A 20-YEAR-OLD man aged himself by 18 years when he applied online for insurance for his van.

Blackburn magistrates heard Kieron James Bolton also failed to reveal two speeding convictions which brought the annual premium for his vehicle down to £924.

Bolton, of Glenluce Crescent, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to making a false statement to obtain motor insurance.

He was given a conditional discharge for six months and ordered to pay £85 costs and £20 victim surcharge.

Tracy Yates, prosecuting, said Bolton was stopped by police on the M65.

A cheque with his insurance company revealed he had claimed he was born in 1980 which would have made him 38 years old.

Nick Dearing, defending, said his client had never been in trouble before and was a young man who had made a foolish decision.

He said Bolton, a qualified mechanic, was running his own business at the time and the premium for the van insurance would have been "astronomical."

He said the van, which was worth about £3,000, had been confiscated and his client was the main loser.