More than 1,000 driving bans were handed to children in 2017 who were not old enough to drive, thanks to video games “giving youngsters the confidence to get behind the wheel”.

It is feared that video games which are “teaching” young people to drive could be contributing to the number of underage driving bans being issued, rising from 696 in 2014 to 1,024 last year.

Figures obtained by the BBC showed children as young as 12 were among those banned, with 33 disqualifications issued in total during 2017 for those aged 13 and under, according to DVLA statistics.

It has been suggested that the rise could be down to children learning how to drive through their computer or gaming console.

AA president Edmund King said: “There are more and more video games out there now that are able to effectively teach people how to drive.