A 17-year-old youth caused more than £2,000-worth of damage to five cars in a drunken rage, a court heard yesterday.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted causing £400-worth of damage to a Citroen car, £200-worth to a Toyota Corina, £534-worth to a Toyota Celica, £878-worth of damage to a Vauxhall Astra and £100-worth of damage to an Almera.

Jacqueline Gibson, proseccuting, told Darlington Youth Court the teenager admitted to police he had consumed three bottles of cider and four cans of lager before kicking the cars in Darlington's Geneva Road, on May 28.

When asked by magistrates why he had done it, the teenager replied: "It was a drunken rage after an argument with a friend."

They ordered him to pay £2,112 compensation and gave him a six-month referral order