A teenager who was rushing to get back to college caused a crash on the M65 and tried to blame another driver.

Zoeb Waris, who was then 18, was driving towards Nelson between junctions 11 and 12 on the M65 after travelling to Burnley with his friend during his lunch hour to pick up a part for his car.

Preston Crown Court heard how at around 2.45pm on January 16, Waris, who was driving a Vauxhall Corsa, pulled out and tried to overtake a Kia Rio, but quickly pulled back into his lane, causing both cars to crash.

Prosecuting, Tom Farr said: “The defendant’s vehicle then struck the crash barrier on the hard shoulder while the victim’s vehicle fish-tailed before regaining control.

“Following the crash, the victim was approached by a male who had been travelling with the defendant and he started accusing her of causing the crash.

“The defendant stayed in his vehicle with his head in his hands.

“He later admitted being the driver of the car at the time of the crash and said the crash had been caused by the victim who had been changing lanes, however, the damage to the car was not consistent with this account.”

Mr Farr said the victim, a Mrs Kilbride, had that day been to hospital for a check up on an existing spinal injury and as a result of the crash the injury had been aggravated.

She was also diagnosed with whiplash following the incident, and was worried about driving again.

Waris, now 19, of Macleod Street, Nelson, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving.

Mitigating, Ashliegh Heyworth said her client has no previous convictions and had been travelling to Burnley to purchase some car parts, and was on his way back to college in Nelson at the time.

She told the court: “He has not managed his time properly to get back to his lesson in Nelson and this is what’s caused his risky behaviour.

“He was 18 at the time and has never been in trouble before. He’s a bright young man with a future ahead of him.”

Recorder Katie Jones said: “There’s one aggravating factor here and that’s that you tried to place the blame on someone else, wrongly.”

Waris was handed a 10-month jail sentence suspended for 18 months and told to complete 200 hours unpaid work.

He was also banned from driving for 12 months and must sit an extended retest to get his licence back.