A WOMAN caused £15,000 of damage to her friend’s Audi after taking it on a joyride and crashing into a Tesco lorry.

Michaela Keith, 22, was asked to look after her friend’s car keys while on a night-out but later returned to take the vehicle without permission.

Prosecutor Stuart Ellacott told Bournemouth Crown Court that the pair had been close friends for seven years and were out drinking in Charminster on December 31, 2023.

At around 3am the following day, Keith’s friend returned home in a taxi, but the defendant stayed out on her own.

Despite not having a driving license, or insurance on the car, the defendant went on a drive in her friend’s vehicle.

At 6.15am in Charminster Road she crashed with a Tesco lorry that was parked in a bus stop.

The driver felt the impact and saw damage to the rear of the lorry, but the defendant left the scene.

Mr Ellacott said one side of the Audi was ripped off, with further damage to the front, causing the car to be written off.

When the friend confronted Keith, she said she was “very sorry” and would not have done it if she was not drunk.

The friend told the court in a statement that she was upset over the incident, having lost her friend and her dream car that she loved.

Mitigating, Robert Grey, said the defendant is “thoroughly ashamed of herself” and sorry to have lost such a good friend.

Keith has no previous convictions and works as a carer in a care home, adding that she was stressed at the time of the incident and acting on impulse.

Judge William Mousley KC sentenced Keith, 22 and of Cardigan Road, Bournemouth, to an 18 month community order for aggravated vehicle taking, driving without insurance and driving without a license.

She must also complete 150 hours of unpaid work, pay £675 in compensation and disqualified from driving for one year.

She will be subject to a curfew from 10pm to 5am until January 10, 2025.