AN EAST LANCASHIRE dad who was banned from driving his own children will feature in a television series about dangerous drivers.

Oswaldtwistle man John Thompson will star in new TV series showing AA Driving School instructors help some of the UK’s worst qualified drivers.

The speed loving 35-year-old decided to take part in the show after his wife Lauren banned him from driving with their two young children. In her desperation to make John slow down and “grow up”

behind the wheel she called in expert help from the AA’s driving school.

John’s lessons in overcoming bad habits are to feature on Channel Five’s new series Dangerous Drivers’ School.

The father-of-two said he agreed to take part in the series after his wife started to constantly worry about his being involved in an accident. He said: “It was the wife’s decision really. I was speeding quite a lot - on the motorway, I would go up to 90 or 110mph. That wasn’t when I was with my son and daughter, but when I didn’t answer my phone, that would worry Lauren too - she would think I had been in an accident.

“She would say that I drive like an 18-year-old and that I need to grow up. I’m a courier driver and I had gotten into some bad habits.

“It’s for the kids too. They are eight and nine and we don’t want them thinking speeding is ok.”

Instructor Steve Birch, 40, has been an AA Driving School instructor for nearly 10 years. He said: “John really loves driving but his speed was way out of control. He really needed to think more about the road ahead, potential hazards and stick inside the speed limits.

“Dangerous driving habits can creep up on people after passing their test and sometimes the best thing to do is get professional help to sort them out.

“It was good fun being involved with the filming but the most important thing to me was helping John become a safer and more confident driver.”

To launch the programme, the AA Charitable Trust has made 2,000 FREE Drive Confident and Drive Smart courses available to qualified drivers across the country. Each course offers two hours of in-car tuition with a fully qualified AA driving instructor, like Steven. To register visit www.theaa.com.