A TEENAGER who crashed his car as he drove home from a night out told police it had been stolen.

But Blackburn magistrates heard that officers were suspicious of Matthew Coughlin's version of events because they found his car ignition key in the abandoned vehicle.

And a piece of bumper, ripped off in the collision with a metal fence had been put inside.

Coughlin, 19, of Kestrel Drive, Darwen, admitted drink-driving, failing to stop and obstruction. He was banned for 28 months, ordered to do 100 hours unpaid work and fined £150 with £75 costs.

Coughlin, who gave a breath reading of 106 against the legal limit of 35, had told police who called at his home he had left the car on the Bridgewater pub car park but in a later statement said it had been stolen from outside his home.

In a further statement he eventually admitted he had driven home because he didn't have enough money for a taxi.

Andrew Church-Taylor, defending, said there had been a "dawning" on his client that honesty was the best policy.

"By the time of the second interview he accepted everything put to him and has pleaded guilty at the first opportunity."

"When he parked the car in town he had no intention of driving it again that night but his decision making was clearly affected by the amount he had drunk."