A MAN who got behind the wheel while banned was now keeping his nose clean -- or else he would have his mother to answer to.

Burnley magistrates heard how ex-convict Benjamin Mason, 22, had got in with older, professional criminals, but his mum now monitored who he mixed with.

Mason, of Wordsworth Street, Burnley, admitted driving while banned, having no insurance and police obstruction.

He was given 150 hours community punishment and banned for 12 months. The bench told him he was being given a last chance to prove himself and they wished him the best of luck.

The court was told the defendant, who gave false details to police, had 37 previous convictions and had been jailed and banned for three years for aggravated vehicle taking.

Dylan Bradshaw, defending, said since his release from custody Mason's mother had offered him a home and seen a change in him.