A TEEN mechanic caught behind the wheel before he’d passed his test said was only in the car so he could smoke.

Magistrates this week stopped short of banning him from driving, praising the fact he had “manned up” and acknowledged he had been in the wrong.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was less than a month shy of passing his driving test when he was arrested on a charge of driving with no insurance or licence.

Police had been tipped off the boy was in the car. When they pulled up at his home west of Swindon they saw the boy get out the vehicle. He panicked and ran from the officers, returning later after police got hold of him on the phone.

Swindon Youth Court heard the boy had not been driving the car, but had been sat in the driver’s seat to smoke as he was not allowed to indulge in the habit in his step-mother’s house.

Asked by magistrates why he had the keys in the ignition, he said he wanted to listen to his stereo.

The boy, a mechanic whose employers wanted to put him through his HGV driving test, was fined £183 and his driving licence endorsed with six points. He must pay £115 in court costs and surcharges.

Michael New, chairman of the bench, said: “It’s not the crime of the century, but it is a crime that will be on your licence for a long time.”