A CIVIL Servant caused £16,000 worth of damage to his girlfriend's mother's car after he took it without consent and crashed, Richmond Magistrates' Court heard on Tuesday.

Philip Holder, 20, from Tunbridge Wells in Kent drove the car from Ealing to Paradise Road in Richmond, whilst holding only a provisional licence, on February 2.

He was then involved in a crash which caused extensive damage to the car and went to the police station and fully admitted to the offence.

Holder said he was really sorry and his uncle spoke in his defence saying: "It must have been a moment of extreme madness and he phoned me when it happened.

"He was so distressed I could barely understand what he was saying. Together we told the police what was going on. This is his first offence and hopefully it will be his last offence."

The magistrates said that the defendant had been a danger to the public but took the mitigating circumstances into consideration.

Holder was fined £550 and disqualified from driving for two years.