Bedlington man banned from the roads after driving for more alcohol following eight hour session

A driver had been on an eight-hour drinking trip when he crashed into a parked car in Northumberland.

Stephen Cuthbert got behind the wheel of his Kia Rio in order to buy more alcohol, having got the train home from a drink-fuelled day in Edinburgh with work colleagues.

The 49-year-old was heard by a resident on Ridge Terrace, in Bedlington, to crash into a stationary car before he left the scene on foot, a court heard.

The police were called and traced Cuthbert to his home address on Knaresborough Close, also in Bedlington, where he was arrested after failing a breath test.

He later gave a reading of 106 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath, the legal limit being 35.

Cuthbert appeared at South East Northumberland Magistrates' Court where he pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol.