A BANNED driver smashed into the back of another car only a month after he was ordered off the road.

Burnley magistrates heard how Jason Richardson, 24, had learning problems and had difficulty understanding what was going on around him.

Richardson, whose solicitor told the court he would be bullied if he went to jail, walked free from court after admitting driving while disqualified, using an uninsured vehicle and failing to stop and give his name and address after an accident.

The prosecution offered no evidence on a charge of driving without due care and attention.

The defendant, of Southfield Street, Nelson, was given an 18-months conditional discharge, banned from driving for the same length of time and ordered to pay £65 costs.

Philippa White, prosecuting, said police were called to an injury road accident in Nelson.

A car and van were involved and the defendant said he had been driving the van. The driver of the other vehicle was injured and officers discovered Richardson had been disqualified for six months in March.

Mark Irlam, defending, said Richardson had learning difficulties and was clearly a vulnerable man.

He had bought the van for £65 with a view to renovating it to sell, parked it on some land near his mother's home and did not drive it until the day of the offences.

He then received a phone call from his brother, asking him to pick him up in Colne and stupidly he went to pick up his two brothers from a pub.

Mr Irlam said as the defendant was on the way home on the back roads, his brakes failed and although he tried to avoid the collision with the car in front, he couldn't.