TWO men who could not get a taxi home after a drunken night out decided to take a nine-tonne dumper truck from a building site instead, magistrates heard.

Richard John Morgan, 21, who works in the construction industry, used a universal key he happened to have on him to start the vehicle and smashed it through a security fence before trundling erratically along narrow country lanes without lights.

He and his passenger, Daniel John Hall, 19, were stopped only when they let a vehicle pass - only to find out it was a police patrol car.

Their escapade ended in Consett Magistrates' Court, where Morgan pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking and dangerous driving. Hall admitted allowing himself to be carried in the vehicle.

Janet Coxon, prosecuting, said the pair had taken the truck from Durham Johnson Comprehensive School, at Crossgate Moor, on the outskirts of Durham City, in the early hours of April 27.

A taxi driver had seen the truck crossing the white line in the middle of the road and weaving from side to side. It had no lights on and was travelling between 20mph and 30mph.

While driving along Pitt Lane, near Brandon, they waved the police vehicle past and were stopped. Hall was arrested, but Morgan fled the scene. He later handed himself in.

Morgan, of Albert Terrace, Billy Row, Crook, County Durham, was given a 12-month community order, ordered to undergo a good citizen programme and to complete 150 hours' unpaid work. He was also disqualified from driving for 18 months and must pass an extended retest to get his licence back.

Hall, of West Terrace, Billy Row, was given a conditional discharge two years and banned from driving for 12 months. Each has to pay £43 costs.

Sam Brewster, for Morgan, said: "It was a case of drunken high jinx that got well and truly out of hand. They had been out drinking in Durham and both were fairly intoxicated. They couldn't get a taxi, so decided to walk home."

He added: "They had the misfortune of passing a construction site. Morgan works in construction and, unfortunately, had a universal key with him and, in his drunken state, took the vehicle."

Mr Brewster said Morgan disputed the speed he was travelling at, as the truck was not capable of more than 10mph.