A YOUNG man has been disqualified from driving for 16 months after he drove his car after consuming ‘up to ten’ pints of lager.

Dale Hoggarth, of Dale Avenue, Kendal, pleaded guilty to driving over the legal limit and failing to stop after a road accident.

The court heard how Hoggarth had parked his car at a friend’s house and then went drinking in town. He had drunk about ‘eight to ten pints’ and at 1.30am on February 23 he decided to walk home.

The 18-year-old passed his car parked on Shap Road and thought he was ‘okay to drive’. He got in his VW Polo and headed home but crashed the vehicle into a limestone wall.

He ‘panicked’ and fled the scene but police officers found him 100 metres down the road.

A breathalyser test found him to have 54 microgrammes of alcohol in his system.

Taylor was fined £150 for being over the limit and ordered to pay £85 in costs and £20 in victim surcharge.