A Taranaki father has been sentenced to community work at New Plymouth District Court

The man, who cannot be named to protect his child's identity, got his son to drive him about four kilometres to a New Plymouth city bar.

Police saw the parked car sticking out onto the road just after midnight on June 3 and found a 10-year-old boy at the wheel, with his drunk father in the passenger seat.

When questioned, the man told officers it wasn't the first time his son had been his sober driver.

Judge Cunningham told the court the offending was a gross breach of trust between a parent and child, and that the man had realised his drinking was a problem.

He was sentenced to 100 hours' community work and 12 months' intensive supervision, and is disqualified from driving for six months and required to attend alcoholism and parenting programmes.