A 22-YEAR-OLD Blackburn man caught driving while disqualified twice within 48 hours was told he had come "within a whisker" of going to prison.

Blackburn magistrates heard that on the second occasion Naeem Patel had driven down numerous back alleys in an attempt to evade the police.

And the chairman of the magistrates said the consequences of his actions could have been quite appalling if he had collided with a child or other pedestrian.

"You have come within a whisker of going to prison and any breach of the order we have imposed will result in custody," he added.

Patel, of Beardwood Park, pleaded guilty to two charges of driving while disqualified and without insurance.

He was ordered to do 80 hours community punishment and made subject to a community rehabilitation order for two years.