A chef drove off in his Dartmouth employers' Audi convertible without permission and abandoned it with extensive damage.

Newton Abbot magistrates were told on Tuesday that heroin addiction was the root cause of 27-year-old Alexander Smith's problems.

Smith, of Victoria Street, Dartmouth, admitted aggravated vehicle-taking, driving while unfit through drugs and driving without insurance or a licence.

The bench called for an pre-sentence report and adjourned the hearing to the Torquay court on December 14. Smith was bailed on conditions including a curfew.

Prosecutor Philip Sewell said that Smith had been employed as a chef by Brian Yole and Darren Morris at the Singing Kettle tea-room in Smith Street, Dartmouth.

He said the two owners were the only people allowed to drive the red Audi A4 convertible and they had left the vehicle locked in Victoria Road.

Mr Sewell said they did not realise the car had been taken until the police told them it had been found in a damaged condition.

The prosecutor added that Smith was seen leaving his lodgings in Dartmouth at 9pm on September 6.

At 4.40am next day, a resident was asleep in his first-floor bedroom in Weston Road, Totnes, when he heard a vehicle stop outside.

He looked out of the window and saw the driver get out of the car and put some items in a carrier bag before walking off towards Seymour Place.

The witness went outside and found the car windows were open, with the lights on. He informed the police and it was then discovered that the vehicle had sustained severe damage to the nearside. One tyre was virtually off its rim.

The police were given a description of the driver and he was found shortly afterwards.

Smith said that he had been to a party in Totnes. He initially denied driving the car or having the keys, but the keys to an Audi were found after a search, together with two small bottles of steroids.

The officers thought he was unfit to drive, although an alcohol-breath sample proved negative. They still had concerns and further tests subsequently revealed positive readings for methadone and morphine. Those levels of drugs would have impaired his ability to drive, said Mr Sewell.

He added that the steroids were for Smith's personal use and were not illegal.

Smith knew he would not have been given permission to use the car, but he drove it to Paignton to get some money from his account.

While driving back towards Totnes, he reached the Berry Pomeroy area and hit the hedge a few times and also a tree. He remembered damaging the front wheel and saw smoke.

He eventually left the car in Totnes and tried to get a taxi back to Dartmouth.

Smith had 28 previous convictions, including a prison sentence last year, the court was told.

Nigel Butt, defending, said Smith had not driven on busy roads that night and he had not shown a deliberate disregard for other road-users.

Mr Butt said heroin addiction had been the root cause of Smith's problems for a number of years. To his credit, however, he had managed to keep working and had changed his employment. He was now working as a kitchen porter, which involved long hours and split shifts, and he was also seeking help from the Shrublands community drug and alcohol service in Torquay.