A CAR trader faces a bill of nearly £2,000 after selling an unsafe car.

Gordon Horne, aged 45, of Patterdale Avenue, Blackburn pleaded guilty to supplying a car in a dangerously unroadworthy condition contrary to the Road Traffic Act 1988 at a hearing at Fleetwood Magistrates' Court on 18 December 2002.

The court heard that in April this year, a man had bought a 1994 Rover 216 SLI for £412 from a motor auction in Poulton.

While driving home he noticed that it was 'bouncing around at the back'.

Examination later revealed extensive structural distortion following poorly repaired accident damage, causing the car to be unstable when cornering and braking.

Horne explained that he had not driven it to the auction but taken it on a low-loader.

He claimed that since the sale he had found out that the car had been written-off in July 1997.

He said had put his faith in the fact that it had a current MoT.

Lancashire County Council chief trading standards officer Jim Potts said: "Motor traders should never rely on an MoT certificate as a guarantee of roadworthiness. Vehicles should always be checked out by a competent mechanic to make sure they are safe." Magistrates imposed a fine of £500, and ordered Horne to pay prosecution costs of £703 and compensation of £757.