A LEARNER driver tried to drive 50 miles in the dark while twice the drink drive limit, York Magistrates' Court heard.

Tom Harold Cardy, 20, said he and his friend thought it was the only way for them to get home after a night out in York.

Natalie Chapman, prosecuting, said police pulled him over on the A1079 at Dunnington at 4am on October 20 because of the way he was driving.

A breath test gave a reading of 70 micrograms in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

He didn’t have a driving licence and he was uninsured.

Cardy, of Northfield, Keyingham between Hull and Withernsea, pleaded guilty to drink driving, driving without insurance and driving without a licence.

District Judge Adrian Lower banned Cardy from the roads for 18 months, fined him £200 and ordered him to pay a £32 statutory surcharge and £85 prosecution costs.

Cardy, who represented himself, said he had gone out for “a couple of drinks” after work with a friend.

They returned to the friend’s car when they were ready to go home.

“Both of us were not thinking straight and decided it was the only way back,” he said.

“It was a massive mistake.”