A DRUNK learner driver crashed into a parked car in the early hours of the morning then ran off.

The car being driven by Steven Squire was written off and the stationary vehicle was also damaged.

Squire, from Kirkcaldy, had been drinking in Dunfermline before causing the collision in Cairneyhill. When tracked down by police, he claimed someone else had been driving.

Squire, 21, of Arran Crescent, appeared in the dock at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.

He admitted that on May 13, at Main Street, Cairneyhill, he failed to identify who had been driving a vehicle involved in a collision.

He also admitted drink-driving. His reading was 48 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, the limit being 22 microgrammes.

He further admitted he drove without ‘L’ plates or being accompanied by a qualified driver and he had no insurance.

Depute fiscal Katherine Fraser said Squire had been in Coady’s Bar in Dunfermline and had offered a lift to a female.

They went for a drive and then at 5.30am, he was taking her home when he crashed into a parked car in Cairneyhill.

A resident heard a loud bang and looked outside into the street where she saw a car sitting next to her neighbour’s vehicle.

The court heard that Squire was in the driver’s seat and made several unsuccessful attempts to pull away. When this did not work, he got out of the vehicle and ran off. His female passenger followed him but he asked her to go back to retrieve his mobile phone. He asked her to phone a taxi and then he threw the car keys away.

Police were contacted and Squire was found nearby and matched the description passed on by the local resident.

There was a strong smell of alcohol from him and he claimed he was not the driver.

“He’s up there. It’s no me,” he told police.

His roadside breath test was positive and Squire said: “I dinnae give a f***” when arrested.

Defence solicitor David McLaughlin said the vehicle belonged to the partner of Squire’s mum and was written off following the collision.

“He had been speaking to someone and had drank a couple of beers. When driving he clipped this car,” added the solicitor.

The court heard Squire, who only has a provisional licence, had just completed a community payback order.

Sheriff Charles MacNair told Squire: “This was appalling behaviour which involved you writing off one car and damaging another when you were drunk.

“You then lied to the police.”

He imposed a community payback order with 100 hours of unpaid work. Squire was also disqualified from driving for 20 months.