A DRUNKEN soldier took his mother’s car without permission and crashed it into a lamppost, a court heard.

Daniel Andrew Walter Hilliary, of Westlea Avenue, Bishop Auckland, drove off in the Vauxhall Corsa at about 5am on Wednesday, November 26, and collided with a lamppost on Woodhouse Lane in the town.

Yesterday (Thursday, December 12), magistrates in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, heard the 22-year-old had been out drinking pints with friends since 3pm and had little recollection of the incident.

John Garside, prosecuting, said tests had revealed 96 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath, more than twice the legal limit of 35 microgrammes.

Hilliary, a guardsman with the Scots Guards in Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to drink driving, driving without insurance and aggravated vehicle taking.

Robert Willoughby, mitigating, described the incident as out of character and said Hilliary was highly regarded by senior officers.

“He cannot really explain why he did this and what he was doing in the car at all,” said Mr Willoughby.

“He does sometimes have difficulties with anger and stress. He finds it difficult to find a release.”

Hilliary was disqualified from driving for 18 months, fined £1,050 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £120 victim surcharge.

His licence was also endorsed.