A SWINDON partygoer who took a friend’s car keys from a party without asking and drove off in the car with three friends to find more alcohol has been banned from driving for two years.

Jacob Thomas Salter, 24, of Sycamore Grove, appeared before magistrates in Swindon on Wednesday and admitted taking a vehicle without consent, driving whilst unfit through drugs, driving when above the legal alcohol limit and driving without insurance.

Prosecutor Pauline Lambert told the bench that at 12.30am on August 5 police on patrol in Swindon followed a Honda Civic, in which the three passengers and the driver were all male, along County Road before indicating for the driver to stop in Beatrice Street.

The driver appeared intoxicated and both a roadside breath test and a drug swipe proved positive.

At Gable Cross police station Salter’s breath/alcohol level was found to be 58 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath compared to the legal limit of 35mcg.

He was also found to have a cocaine level of 13 microgrammes, the legal limit for driving being 10 mcg.

Ms Lambert said the owner of the Civic had gone home, leaving her keys and the car at her friend’s house. She gave no permission to anyone to use the car.

Sambreen Arif, defending, said Salter had been drinking and taking cocaine at a friend’s house and decided to take the keys and drive his friends to find more alcohol.

She said Salter realised it was a silly mistake. He made no excuses and understood how awful it could have been, putting the safety of himself and his friends at risk.

The magistrates sentenced Salter to an 18-month community order with 150 hours of unpaid work for taking the vehicle and driving it when above the alcohol limit.

For driving while unfit through drugs he was disqualified for 24 months and order to complete a further 50 hours of unpaid work.

He was fined a total of £240 and ordered to pay court costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £85.