AN apprentice plumber whose friends pleaded with him not to get behind the wheel of his car after drinking 11 pints has been banned from driving.

Scott Parker drank four pints of Fosters before driving to a pub where he then drank a further seven pints.

Despite his friends' efforts to take the keys off him, 21-year-old Parker decided to drive home because it was raining.

Police stopped Parker in Malvern after seeing damage to road signs, and he admitted he had hit them.

A breath test revealed Parker had 94mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath, the legal limit being 35mcg.

Parker, who was banned from driving in 2006 for being over the limit, pleaded guilty to drink driving when he appeared at Worcester Magistrates Court yesterday.

David Taylor, defending, said: "He is a hard-working, law-abiding young man."

Parker, of Duke of Edinburgh Way, Malvern, was disqualified from driving for three years.

He was also made the subject of a 12-month community order, with a 12-month supervision programme and will have to attend the drink impaired drivers programme.

He was also made to pay £60 costs.