Drunk man gets boy, 12, to drive instead

A New Zealand man persuaded a 12-year-old boy to drive him home because he was too drunk.

Wilfred Waihape told the youngster to get behind the wheel because he was too inebriated to drive himself. He told arresting officers he was, "just letting the boy have a drive."

Waihape, from Mataura, was fined NZ$1,300 (stg£365) and disqualified from driving for six months.

Blair Anderson said police spotted the car, and its young driver, and began to follow it. Waihape, a meat worker, was stopped, breathalysed and was over the limit.

He said he was just letting the boy have a drive of his car, Gore District Court heard.

Judge Noel Walsh said the defendant had got the boy to drive because he was drunk, reported a local newspaper.

The judge added he was seriously concerned about the boy's future if Waihape, 28, was his role model.