A 44-YEAR-OLD man who crashed his partner's car after taking it without her permission has been banned from driving and ordered to do 120 hours of community work.

Robert Newman, of Boreham Fields, Warminster, took his partner's car to go shopping in town on December 6.

He reversed it into another car and drove off without reporting the accident to the police.

Michele Hewitt, prosecuting at Chippenham magistrates' court on Thursday, said his partner, Alison Phillips, had not realised Newman had taken her car until police confronted her about the accident.

Michael Wills, defending, said only very minor damage had been caused.

"He realised he had hit something but he thought it was a metal post," he said.

Newman, who has not committed a crime for the past 14 years, pleaded guilty to taking a car without consent, failing to stop after an accident, failing to report an accident, driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence and no insurance.

Magistrate David Randolph said: "You really went astray that day and the sum total of these offences is potentially very, very serious."

He was ordered to complete 120 hours of community work, was disqualified from driving for 12 months, was fined £200, given six points on his licence and ordered to pay £43 costs.