A TEENAGER has been banned from driving after he took his mother's car at the end of a night out.

Darren Kirk admitted aggravated vehicle-taking, drink driving, driving without insurance and driving without a licence, when he appeared at Darlington Magistrates' Court yesterday.

The court heard that Kirk, 18, had been drinking in Escapade, Gladstone Street, in the town, on the evening of November 19.

Kirk, of Geneva Road, Darlington, had four pints of lager and two vodka shots in the club before he went home.

James Thomas, prosecuting, said: "He saw his mum's keys and took the car. Because of the alcohol and his lack of driving ability, he hit a number of cars."

Kirk, who only had a provisional licence, said he saw police following him and sped up because he was frightened they would stop him. He hit four cars in Greenbank Road.

Police stopped him and asked if it was his car.

He said: "No, it's my mum's car and she is going to go mad."

He had 47 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.

Graham Silvester, in mitigation, said: "He is a pleasant young man, but with the amount of alcohol on that night, he did a foolish thing, which he utterly regrets."

Kirk was given a two-year driving ban for aggravated vehicle-taking and a concurrent 12-month ban for drink-driving. He was also given six penalty points for driving without insurance, fined a total of £300 and ordered to pay £200 compensation.