A young driver involved in a traffic accident while driving his mother's car under the influence of drink, was ordered by a civil court today to fork out over €20,000 to an insurance company.

Alexander Jan Edward Van Reeven had been driving his mother's car towards Vittoriosa after an evening out in Sliema on January 5, 2009 when the vehicle skidded and slammed into two cars parked in Għajn Dwieli Road, Paola.

He made a police report claiming that his car had been stolen in Sliema, only later admitting the truth. Although he declared that on the night of the accident he had enjoyed a couple of beers, he insisted that his drinking had not been the cause of the crash.

The owners of the parked vehicles had filed arbitration proceedings and obtained payment of some €20,000 in damages from the insurance company.

Gasan Mamo Insurance Ltd, as the company footing the bill for the driver's wrongdoing, filed a suit against Mr Reeven and his mother Jeanette Marie Van Reeven as the holder of the car insurance policy, seeking reimbursement for the sum paid to the victims of the accident.

The court, presided by Madame Justice Jacqueline Padovani Grima concluded that although Ms Van Reeven had nothing to do with the accident, her son had been responsible for the crash. By taking the wheel after having consumed alcohol, Mr Van Reeven had breached the insurance policy. 

The court therefore ordered him to pay Gasan Mamo Insurance Ltd €20,650, the sum paid by the insurers to the victims of the incident.