A DRINK-driver who destroyed part of the kitchen and downstairs toilet of a house in Darlington when his car ploughed into the property has been fined just £384.

Aaron Stanton had drunk five to six pints in the bars on Grange Road but when he saw the length of the queue at the taxi rank he decided to get into his car and drive the short distance home.

His Vauxhall Astra hit a mini roundabout at speed, bounced off the curb and into the side of the house, on Parkside, where Susan Bell and her husband Steve were sleeping in the early hours of last Tuesday morning.

Stanton, 25, of Neasham Road, Darlington, fled back to his home. A police dog traced his scent to his house and he was arrested.

He pleaded guilty to drink driving and failing to stop when he appeared before magistrates in Newton Aycliffe.

Alan Davison, prosecuting, said: “In the early hours of Tuesday, January 10, a 999 call was made by a resident of Parkside, that a car had crashed through their fence, and they saw someone make off from the scene.

“The resident was woken up by a noise and the house shaking.

“The police dog section was deployed which tracked the defendant right back to his own home address a short distance away, where he was arrested.

“He said he had been on a Christmas social night out with work colleagues and had driven to outside his place on work on Grange Road and he confirmed he had about six pints of lager.

“When he saw the taxi queue he got into his own vehicle. He got half way home when he hit a roundabout, hit the curb and went into the house.

“At the time he panicked and ran home to get some help.”

He said that a structural engineer had to assess the house as it was so badly damaged.

John Clish, mitigating on behalf of Stanton, said: “This defendant has never troubled a criminal court before.

“He has lost his good name. Since this happened he has on a daily, and nightly, basis, been beating himself up about why he made this decision. He made a foolish decision to get in his motor vehicle to make the short journey back to his address.

“If he had not been apprehended by the police dog within five minutes he would have done the sensible thing and handed himself in.”

The court heard that the Bell family would have to move out of their home for several months while it was repaired. Darlington MP Jenny Chapman visited them last week to see the damage.

Magistrates imposed a 20-month driving ban on Stanton, fined him £384, and he was ordered to pay a £35 victim surcharge and £85 costs.