The driver of a van which demolished four garden walls on a busy York road was more than double the legal alcohol limit, a court heard.

York magistrates were told that when police arrived at Poppleton Road, near the junction with Holgate Road, on Saturday evening they found a large Ford Iveco van had mounted the kerb.

David Garnett, prosecuting, said the van driver, Simon Paul Brind, had 88mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath, compared with the legal limit of 35mg.

Brind, aged 25, of Moss Street, South Bank, York, pleaded guilty to drink-driving, under a new "fast-track" system aimed at speeding up the justice process.

He was banned for two years and fined £240 with £50 costs. Brind apologised "for what I have put a lot of people through".

His was one of a number of cases the magistrates dealt with under the new system, involving events from only a few days previously.

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