A BANNED driver who got behind the wheel of a Ferrari in an alleged mercy dash has lost a battle to have points removed from his licence.

Burnley Magistrates Court heard how Mohammed Syed, 24, claimed he had gone to the aid of his ex-girlfriend who was threatening suicide and denied it was because she said she wanted a spin in a Ferrari.

Syed, of Highfield Avenue, had earlier been given six penalty points, fined £50 and told to pay £50 costs after admitting driving while disqualified. He claimed special reasons in a bid to get the points wiped from his licence, but the bench refused to remove them.

The defendant, banned for three years, told the court his former partner contacted him to say she was about to commit suicide. The keys of his cousin's Ferrari were in the house and he got in and drove to the Travel Lodge, Burnley.

Syed said his ex was in the car park and got into the Ferrari drunk and with a bottle of pills in her hand. She was grinning and Syed said it didn't seem to him like his former partner was "going to top herself".

The defendant claimed the girl said she was going to be sick, needed a toilet and he drove her around the corner.

Cross-examined by Bill Maude, prosecuting, Syed denied telling police the girl had said to him: "Take me a ride in a Ferrari,"and he had agreed.

Syed told Brian Irlam, defending, he only drove about 100 yards with the girl.