King’s Lynn provisional driver took car without permission before crashing it into garden wall

A 20-year-old who “felt like going for a drive” despite not having a full licence decided to take a car without the owner's permission before crashing it into a garden wall.

Mario Conde, of Guanock Terrace in Lynn, appeared at the town’s magistrates’ court on Thursday where he admitted to driving the Peugeot 207 without a full licence or insurance.

Crown Prosecutor Lesla Small told the court that between 3-4am on September 17, Conde had taken the car without the owner's permission.

While driving, he crashed the car into a wall of a front garden on Goodwins Road in Lynn and left the scene to find the owner of the vehicle to let them know what happened.

The police were called by a member of the public who had witnessed the crash, and Conde then returned to the scene with the car’s owner.

“The owner didn't want him (Conde) to be taken to court and he made full admissions to taking the car in police interview,” said Ms Small.

He also said he took the car because “he felt like going for a drive”.

Conde had no previous convictions to his name.

He appeared unrepresented in court, providing little mitigation and said “no” when asked if he wanted to provide any evidence.

Magistrates added six penalty points to Conde’s provisional licence and fined him £250 for committing the offence.

He will also pay a victim surcharge of £100 and court costs of £105.