A LEARNER driver who smashed into another car on a motorway slip road was told by magistrates he should not have been on a motorway anyway.

Jonathan David Binns, 18, had been distracted when a cigarette flung out of the vehicle flew back in and went down the back of his collar, Burnley Magistrates heard.

Binns, of Skipton Road, Colne, admitted driving without due care and attention, using an uninsured vehicle and driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence. He was fined £100, with £35 costs.

Andy Robinson, prosecuting, told the court the defendant crashed into the back of a Mercedes van on a slip road of the M65.

He told police he had had about 10 driving lessons but had never taken a test.

Glen Smith, defending, said Binns believed the cigarette end had still been lit and was struggling to avoid it after it went down the back of his collar.