A DRINK driver said a crash in which his friend was thrown through the windscreen of his van had ruined his life.

Daniel Brown,36, of Valley road, Northallerton admitted drink driving when he appeared before the town's magistrates. The court was told he had been driving up Sandy Bank, near Northallerton, around midnight on September 11 last year when he lost control of his Vauxhall Combo van on a right hand bend. His passenger was thrown through the windscreen of the vehicle sustaining head injuries and a broken leg. Brown injured his wrist and was treated in hospital, when he was tested several hours later he had 125 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of urine, the limit is 107.

Brown told the court:"It was my own stupidity, I am sorry and deeply embarrassed about what happened to my friend, it has ruined my life for the past six months, it was an error of judgement on my behalf."

Chairman of the bench Scott Handley said:"The consequences could have been more severe, it was sometime before you were tested." The court was told Brown held only a provisional licence and had never taken a test. He was disqualified from driving for 16 months and ordered to pay £470 in fines and costs."