A MAN stepping out of a grocery store on Green Lane, Blackburn, saw a silver car racing past at about 70mph.

The town's magistrates heard the car, driven by Joshua Joel Holmes, left skid marks on the road and had smoke coming from its tyres as it lost control on a bend and crashed into a fence.

The court was told Holmes and another man got out of the car and walked off, ignoring calls from the witness for them to stop.

Holmes, 28, of East Lancs Road, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention and failing to stop after a road traffic accident. He was fined £300 with £100 costs and £30 victim surcharge and ordered to pay £100 compensation to the owner of the fence. His licence was endorsed with seven penalty points.

Parveen Akhtar, prosecuting, said Holmes had a previous conviction for dangerous driving in 2014 for which he received a prison sentence.

Paolo Passerini, defending, said his client had to concede he was driving too fast, lost control and crashed.

"He actually walked round to the front of the property and knocked on the door but there was no answer," said Mr Passerini. "He now knows he should have done more than that."

Mr Passerini said that shortly after the incident his client had found out who owned the fence and had offered to pay for the damage and apologised on Facebook. He said Holmes owned his own scaffolding business and if he lost his licence that would be the end of his business.