A SOLDIER crashed a car after driving it at 80mph while drunk, a court heard yesterday.

Teesside Crown Court heard that Terence Coburn, 28, had been driving a Ford Fiesta on a road rarely used by the public, in Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, on October 20 last year.

Tony Calloway, prosecuting, said there were two other soldiers in the car. One of them told police he saw the speedometer at 80mph. He said he told Coburn to slow down.

Mr Calloway said Coburn lost control of the car and crashed it, leaving one of the passengers with a fractured vertebrae.

Coburn, a private in the Army, was found to be over the legal limit for alcohol when driving.

His platoon commander, Captain Matthew Adams, said Coburn was a first class soldier and described the event as a one-off.

He said: "He is one of the better soldiers in the battalion if not the best in his platoon."

He said the event was completely out of character, adding that Coburn was a married father-of-two, with another baby due.

Coburn, of the 1st Kings Regiment, based at Bourlon Barracks, Catterick Garrison, admitted dangerous driving and driving with excess alcohol.

Judge Michael Taylor said he was not going to deprive the Army of a first rate soldier by jailing Coburn. He fined him £1,000 and banned him from driving for 18 months.