Holbeach tenant crashed landlady's car into a van on the A17

Magistrates heard how a Holbeach tenant took his landlady's car without her permission and crashed it into a van.

The court was told that Pereira Fernandes (24), of Wignal's Gate, Holbeach, who admitted aggravated vehicle taking and driving without insurance or a driving licence, had taken his landlady's Ford Fiesta at 9.30am on November 8 without her permission and had then crashed into a van on the A17 at Washway Road.

Witnesses had said he had been 'weaving all over the road prior to 'crashing into oncoming traffic'.

Anita Toal, mitigating, said the offence was 'almost inexplicable'.

She said that at the time, he was 'not in the right place' having just broken up with his girlfriend of three years and had taken his landlady's car 'in a moment of madness'.

She told the magistrates that he had not fled the scene of the collision and had checked to make sure the other driver was all right and uninjured.

Boston magistrates ordered Fernandes to undergo 140 hours of unpaid work for the community and banned him from driving for a year.

He was also ordered to pay £500 compensation to the car owner and £175 in court costs and charges.