A 20-YEAR-OLD disqualified driver who crashed a car on the Peebles to Cardrona road has been told the only reason he has not been jailed is because of his age.

Roofer Keith Kitchin collided with a wall on the B7062 road and the vehicle ended up on its roof on May 6.

When another motorist arrived on the scene Kitchin claimed he had called the police.

Instead he disappeared from the scene but Selkirk Sheriff Court was told he was later traced by police and initially denied he was the driver.

Kitchin pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified, no insurance, failing to stop after an accident and failing to reveal the identity of the driver to the police.

Sheriff Peter Paterson said it was only the Scottish Government's direction not to jail offenders under 25 which had saved him from prison on this occasion.

He was banned from driving for three years, placed on supervision for 12 months and given a night-time home curfew between the hours of 7pm and 7am for the next eight months.