Say yes to cheaper van, home and car insurance

A judge has criticised the sentence he was forced to give to a teenage drunk driver who left a man paralysed.

Judge Martin Picton described the 18-month sentence given to Luke Martin, 18, for hitting Paul Beard as "laughable".

Mr Martin stole his mother's car keys after drinking ten pints of beer. He then crashed into Mr Beard near his home in Stroud, Gloucestershire.

The offender pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle-taking, drink-driving and taking to the road without car insurance.

However, Judge Picton felt he had to give an "inadequate" sentence.

"I have to bear in mind that the maximum sentence for aggravated vehicle-taking is just two years," he said.

Mr Beard, who is now confined to a wheelchair, claimed he was "disgusted" by the decision.

Meanwhile, police in Northern Ireland have revealed they made 806 arrests for drink-driving offences between February 26th and March 11th 2007, according to the Irish Times.

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