A 12-year-old boy who ran over an elderly man in a car after drinking a homemade vodka cocktail has been given a year's detention.

His 61-year-old victim suffered a fractured skull and a broken leg and ribs in the accident in Belvedere Road in Salford, Greater Manchester, last month.

The boy, who comes from east Manchester, admitted dangerous driving and driving without a licence or insurance.

Salford Youth Court heard the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and his friends had been taking it in turns to drive an E-reg Lada car they had bought for �35.

Ducked down

The boy - who was about 4ft 10ins tall - had drunk a mixture of vodka and pop before getting behind the wheel.

He had then driven blind after ducking down into his seat in an attempt to avoid being seen by some passing police officers.

But they saw him and were following the car when it went around a 90-degree bend without using any brakes and hit the elderly man.

The boy then lost control of the car which careered onto the opposite side of the road, hitting a sign and trapping him.

He was later breathalysed and found to be under the drink-drive limit.

Judge John Finestein said he would have been jailed for four or five years if he were an adult.

But he said he still had "no option" but to impose a custodial sentence.