A DRUNKEN drive to McDonald’s in a golf buggy led to a Richmond teenager losing his licence.

Northallerton Magistrates’ Court heard today (Tuesday, June 19) that Jamie Elliot, 18, had been drinking when he took a golf buggy from a shed at Richmond Golf Club.

Elliot then drove the buggy with a passenger around three and a half miles to use the McDonald’s drive through on Richmondshire Walk in Catterick.

The pair arrived at the fast food joint at around 3.45am and the police were called.

Prosecuting, Sarah Tyrer said Elliot failed a roadside breath test with a reading of 52mg of alcohol being above the 35mg legal limit.

He was arrested on suspicion of driving whilst unfit through alcohol and taking the golf buggy without consent.

A further alcohol test at the police station returned a reading of 47mg which was used to charge Elliot.

He received a police caution for taking without consent.

Ms Tyrer said Elliot fully admitted his to his criminal actions in his police interview.

Mitigating, Nick Woodhouse told the court that Elliot seemed to be a “hard-working and industrious lad” who worked part-time in a supermarket.

Mr Woodhouse said that Elliot had was hopeful of taking up a mechanical engineering apprenticeship at at firm in Leeming Bar, something he said “wasn’t an easy thing to do” in a rural area.

Mr Woodhouse said that if Elliot lost his driving licence he would have to rely on his family to ensure he attended his apprenticeship commitments.

He added: “Given that he was driving a vehicle that is not capable of any high speed, with no traffic on the roads, a financial penalty might be considered a fairer punishment than a disqualification.

“He was co-operative with officers at the scene, and fully accepts what he has done.”

Mr Woodhouse added that Elliot was not hugely over the drink drive limit when he drove the buggy and had shown “genuine remorse” for what he had done.

Elliot, of Eastfield Avenue, Richmond, admitted to one count of driving while unfit through drink.

Magistrate Julia Svennevig handed him a12-month driving ban and ordered him to pay a total of £235 in fines and court costs.

He was given the option of reducing the length of his ban by 25 per cent by completing a driver rehabilitation course.

The golf buggy incident, which happened on May 29 this year, received widespread coverage after North Yorkshire Police posted a picture of the buggy and described it as the “most unusual job of the night”.