A LEARNER driver crashed into a lorry after failing to brake in time, a court has heard.

Ionut Ilie was found guilty in his absence of driving without due care and attention and without a licence when he appeared before magistrates in Worcester on November 2.

The court heard Ilie had been driving a Ford Transit van on a single carriageway road in Bridstow, near Ross-on-Wye, when he came face-to-face with an articulated lorry heading in the opposite direction on October 14 last year.

But Ilie failed to react quickly enough, skidding and crashing into the lorry as he braked heavily, despite fine and dry conditions, before hitting the roadside hedge.

Significant damage was caused to the 29-year-old's Transit van, while the hedge and the lorry's bodywork and window were also damaged.

Later enquiries revealed that Ilie did not hold a driving licence.

Ilie, of The Claytons, Bridstow, was fined £440 and received five penalty points. He must pay costs of £110 and a £44.01 victim surcharge.