A LEARNER driver has been banned from the roads after he went to buy cigarettes using his girlfriend's car after a night out.

Brett Kipling, 21, pleaded guilty to four driving offences when he appeared in Newton Aycliffe Magistrates' Court yesterday.

They included driving under the influence of alcohol, driving otherwise in accordance with his provisional licence, having no insurance and taking a vehicle without consent.

Derek Walton, prosecuting, said Kipling, of Coleridge Road, Chilton, was stopped on the A167 driving his girlfriend's Renault Clio on May 21 because of its poor mechanical state.

He was given a breath test, which recorded 76mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood. The legal limit is 35mg.

Mike Clark, mitigating, said Kipling had been out drinking before returning home.

"He had been in the house for some time and thought the alcohol had worn off."

Kipling was disqualified from driving for 20 months and fined £150. The ban may be reduced if he completes a drink-driver rehabilitation course. He was also fined £100 and ordered to pay £35 costs.