A TREE surgeon who ran off after his Land Rover crashed into two parked cars in Marlborough has been allowed to keep his licence.

But Kennet magistrates sitting in Devizes on Tuesday heard that it has taken 17 months to bring Nicholas Thompson to court as he had spent more than a year working in Australia.

Thompson, 23, of High Street, Easterton, pleaded guilty to careless driving, obstructing a police officer, failing to stop after an accident and failing to report an accident.

Marion Langford, prosecuting, said that police were called to an incident in Blowhorn Street in Marlborough at 1.20am on October 19 2003.

They found a damaged Land Rover abandoned in the road and damage to a blue Fiat 500 and a Ford Escort that had been parked nearby.

The doors of the Land Rover had been locked.

Thompson was identified as the owner by a man who approached police at the scene. When interviewed, Thompson admitted he had been driving the Land Rover and had been in collision with the parked cars while reaching for a cassette box. He had panicked and run away.

Thompson, who was unrepresented, said he needed his licence for his work.

He was fined £230 with £70 costs and had his licence endorsed with five penalty points but received no separate penalty for any of the other charges.