Former Pop Idol star Will Young banned from the road after smashing into parked car in the Borders

Former chart-topper Will Young has been banned from the road after smashing into a parked car in the Borders.

The singer - who shot to fame as the winner of the first series of Pop Idol - was sentenced at Jedburgh Sheriff Court today (Monday) after previously admitting a charge of careless driving.

Rob Hogarth was forced to jump to safety to avoid being struck by the 39-year-old singer, and his car was written off.

But he said the star couldn't have been nicer.

The drama unfolded in a snow-bound layby on the A68, near Earlston, in January, as Young headed north on the cross-border route to speak to a "well-known actor" for his regular podcast.

Mr Hogarth told Radio Borders News: "We were waiting for the police to come and he said: 'Oh my God, you were so nearly killed' and it was only at that point that I realised that yeah, he just about very nearly hit me.

"But up until that point I hadn't even thought about that because I was just worried about my car that had got all smashed in.

"I know the whole situation is awful - my car was written off and it's been terrible trying to sort out the insurance - but he couldn't have been nicer."

The court heard the star had mistaken a bollard at the entrance to the layby for a central reservation before his vehicle lost traction and smashed into the back of the parked vehicle.

Passing sentence, Sheriff Euan Edment noted it had been "a momentary lapse in concentration".

He fined Young £600 and added five penalty points to his licence which, under the totting up procedure, means he’s now banned from the road for six months.

The court heard Young, who had a previous conviction for drink driving, already had 11 points on his licence.

And fiscal Graham Fraser said the TV personality, who was driving a Mercedes G-class vehicle, was going "faster than was sensible" in the conditions before he collided with Mr Hogarth's Nissan Qashqai.

Pointing to his charity work, Young's lawyer appealed to the Sheriff to restrict the ban to just two months during which time he will be based in London, where he is performing in a West End show.

Because, he said, it could have "practical implications" for him and his three dogs "which he takes everywhere" when he returns home to Cornwall where, the court was told, he lives an hour from the nearest village.

The Sheriff said he gave Young credit for dealing with the smash in a "very honourable and responsible manner" before imposing the ban, but said the fine was being reduced from £850 for his early guilty plea.

Reflecting on the night, Mr Hogarth said: "Because of the snow I parked the car in the layby (because) I couldn't get up the hill. I got a lift up the hill and a lift back down the hill and I was just walking up to the driver's door and then I suddenly looked round and there's this car coming in, this big car coming in to the layby, coming straight towards me and the car.

"I just stepped out the way and wasn't really quite 100 per cent sure what on Earth was going on, and the next thing I knew the car coming into the layby went right into the back of my car and drove it right up the banking at the side of the layby, and I'm just standing there going: 'Oh my God, my car!' Because it was only about four-months-old.

"I was just standing looking at the car which was all completely smashed in from the boot. And I so nearly went to put my jacket in the boot, and if I'd been standing at the boot then I don't know what would have happened."

Mr Hogarth, who's car was written off in the smash, says he recognised it was Will Young straight away.

He said: "He (Young) was in a very big solid Mercedes-type vehicle and he went over and parked up and then came out and he was like: 'Oh my God are you alright? I kind of knew exactly who he was. All he was worried about was if I was okay, and all he was doing was apologising, saying: 'I'm so, so sorry. I thought this was the road.' He said he saw the lights, and he thought this was a car in front of me and he thought this was the road.

"All he did was apologise, he said it was totally (Young's) fault, we'll get it all sorted out. My insurance company will get it all sorted out. Which was incredible.

"When he walked over to the car he was really well dressed and I knew from his voice straight away. The way I knew it was Will Young - because I'm not a fan of his music, sorry if he's listening! But he's really keen on riding horses so I knew him straight away from that."

Will Young remained tight-lipped as he left the court by the back door.