A DRIVER has hit out at bungling licence chiefs who threatened him with a driving ban even though he had done what they asked him to.

Bryan Lynch, 32, of Infirmary Road, Blackburn, received a six point penalty when he was found driving without insurance in January 2006.

After initially contesting the penalty and £200 fine, Mr Lynch finally accepted the punishment in April.

He then had until June 26 to send the licence to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) for the points to be put on.

After posting it off on June 17 and getting it back with the points in place, Mr Lynch was angry when he received another letter saying he had not sent his licence off in the first place.

The letter told him to send it off again and said that in the meantime his licence had been revoked from July 1.

The DVLA explained that he could still drive for the next 12 months, but if he failed to send his licence during this period he would have it taken off him permanently.

Mr Lynch said: "I got the points for having no insurance on a Rover 414 I was driving at the time.

"I've tried ringing them but I just get some automated voice telling me that they are busy.

"I don't know what to do.

"I was absolutely fuming when I got the letter, it's a joke.

"I start a job on August 20 driving wagons for a dairy at Walton Summit, I really rely on driving and this is just confusing."

Mr Lynch said he got the points because he had told a family friend to pay the instalment on his car insurance but when they failed to do so he was left driving uninsured for several months and was eventually caught.

But the DVLA has defended its role, saying if he had rung them the issue could have been resolved quickly.

A spokesman said: "This appears to have been an administrative error and we are sorry for any inconvenience this could have caused.

"We will contact Mr Lynch shortly to resolve the problem."