A teenager has been disqualified from driving after crashing into a lamppost at a Birmingham city centre car park while inhaling nitrous oxide.
Security guards discovered Zain Mohammad on the top floor of Millennium Point Car Park on April 20 this year, Birmingham Magistrates Court heard.
Prosecuting solicitor Shajah Javed told the hearing: "Security called the police because they came across the defendant inside a Volkswagen Golf Type R.
"They noticed the vehicle, which was parked on the top floor of the car park, had collided with a lamppost, causing significant damage to the bumper."
The 19-year-old driver was also seen breathing in nitrous oxide through a balloon, Mr Javed added.
Once police arrived, Mohammad "confirmed he had no insurance" and was arrested, the prosecution said.
Ian Vessey, defence solicitor for Mohammad, said his client had previously passed his test before having his license "revoked" — but claimed Mohammad "was not fully aware of that decision."
Mr Vessey said: "He accepts he was driving in the car park.
"He tells me there was a light that came on, which effectively blinded him, and that was why he crashed into the lamppost.
"He didn't run away.
"He's very sorry for the position he finds himself in."
Mr Vessey explained that Mohammad "holds down a job in the care sector" with responsibilities of going out to look after young and elderly people.
Mr Vessey added: "He can't drive, he knows that and his employer knows that.
"He has to get a taxi or find another way of getting there."
Mohammad appeared at magistrates' court on Tuesday, May 19, where he pleaded guilty to: driving without due care and attention, driving with no insurance, driving without a license, and possession of nitrous oxide — a class C drug — for wrongful inhalation.
Addressing Mohammad, Deputy District Judge Olwen Davis said: "You have pleaded guilty to these offences straight away, so I reduce your fines.
"You are 19, that is a very young age — even for people, even in this court.
"I accept Mr Vessey's argument that you are not yet mature.
"People don't fully develop until they reach their mid to late 20s.
"What that means is I don't hold you as much to blame as someone who's in their mid 20s, 30s, or older."
Mohammad, of Gilmore Road, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, was handed an £80 fine for the three driving offences.
For the nitrous oxide offence — which Ms Davis "suspected" had gotten Mohammad "in trouble with the lamppost" — she handed him a further £80 fine.
In addition, he was disqualified from driving for six months, ordered to pay prosecution costs of £80 and a victim surcharge of £40.
