A STUDENT who drove her car while drunk admitted to magistrates yesterday that she was too scared to tell her parents.

Katie Nevison, 19, pleaded guilty to drink-driving at South Durham Magistrates' Court in Darlington.

Ciaran Grogan, prosecuting, said the Northumbria University fashion marketing student had driven her Seat Ibiza car in the early hours of April 18 after a night out with friends in Darlington. She failed a roadside breath test after being stopped by police.

Laura Saunders-Jerrom, mitigating, said Nevison had not intended to drive her car but had received a call from an ill friend who needed assistance.

She said her client had still not told her parents but planned to do so after the hearing, but was "terrified of her parents' reaction".

Nevison, of Riverside Drive, Great Burdon, Darlington, was banned from driving for a year and fined £100 with £55 costs