A 16-YEAR-old boy with an alcohol problem drank half a bottle of whisky before he crashed his new car during a 100mph police chase, a court heard last Thursday.

A 16-YEAR-old boy with an alcohol problem drank half a bottle of whisky before he crashed his new car during a 100mph police chase, a court heard last Thursday.

The Yarmouth teenager and his girlfriend escaped unscathed after the car he was driving ploughed off the road in Felixstowe.

Magistrates banned the youth from driving for 16 months and gave him a supervision order after he admitted drink-driving, careless driving and making off without paying for �28 of petrol on January 10.

The youth also admitted driving without a licence, insurance and MoT.

His driving ban comes into force even though he has another nine months before he can legally drive.

Yarmouth Magistrates heard that at about 5am, police received reports that a car had crashed into a central reservation on the A14 at Trimley. When police arrived, the youth sped off towards Felixstowe in his car, which his mother had given him as a reward for his good behaviour at school and home.

Sara Borthwick, prosecuting, said during a police pursuit, the youth's car reached speeds of 100 mph on stretches of unlit road.

When the boy approached a roundabout on the Port of Felixstowe Road, the car left the road.

A police test found that the teenager had 117mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood - the legal limit being 80.

A previous court hearing was told the youth had drunk half a bottle of whisky as he set off on a journey to Birmingham with his girlfriend. He also filled up the car with petrol worth �28 at Acle and did not pay.

Magistrates heard he had an entrenched drinking problem which he was now tackling.

They were also told he hoped to join the army in September on an apprentice course.

His solicitor Annette Hall said: “What he has done, he bitterly regrets. If he could turn back the clock, he would do so.”

The 16-year-old's mother had bought the car for her son so he could learn to drive when he reached 17 as he was doing well at school and at home.

During last Thursday's hearing, she said: “I can honestly say that since the accident, he has not touched a drop.”

As well as his 16-month driving ban, the youth was also sentenced to an 18-month supervision order and made the subject of a three-month night-time curfew.