EAST Lancashire actor Jody Latham has told a court he is on the brink of bankruptcy.

Former Eastenders and Shamless star Latham, 30, claims he has been forced to move in with his parents in Bacup ahead of a High Court bankruptcy hearing.

He was appearing before Judge Charles Bloom at Bolton Crown Court to challenge a motoring conviction when he revealed his financial difficulties.

Latham, of Market Street, was fined £340 by Bolton magistrates after being convicted of driving on hatched markings on the M66 near Simister Island last August.

He said: “I am going to be declared bankrupt. It is going through the high courts. If I had a job I would have money, wouldn’t I?”

Latham, who played Lip Gallagher in Shameless and Rob Grayson in Eastenders, also said he did not want to claim benefits and had relied on people lending money to get him to the court hearing.

The actor, who used to run Jacks Bar in Barrowford, also tried to delay the case until both of the police officers who pulled him over were able to attend court.

Judge Bloom, who said the evidence of only one was required, dismissed the appeal after Latham accepted he was driving the silver Vauxhall at the time of the offence.

The judge also ordered him to pay an additional £200 in court costs. Latham said he would seek a judicial review.

The former Walton High student was arrested last year on suspicion of growing and supplying cannabis but police later said they were taking no further action.

He has recently been involved in running a clothing store in Bacup with his partner.