A COUPLE have spoken of their anger after thieves stole goods from their crashed car.

Stephen Forrest, 36, lost control of his Vauxhall Corsa on the road between Burnhope and Maiden Law, near Lanchester, and it smashed into a stone wall.

He was taken by passers-by to his parents' home in Dipton, near Stanley, where he alerted police.

But in the 90 minutes before officers arrived to remove the vehicle, thieves had broken in and stolen a baby seat and a child's booster seat.

Mr Forrest's wife, Sharon, 35, said: "I am really angry and annoyed.

"I can't believe that people could pinch stuff from a crashed car. Someone could have died in that crash and to steal their possessions is unbelievable."

Police have confirmed they are looking for two stolen car seats.

"The side where me and our son, David, who is three, normally sit, was completely bashed in. It was lucky that we were not in it," said Mrs Forrest.

The accident happened at about 2.10pm on Saturday as Mr Forrest travelled from their home in Durham to pick up his parents.

"The car just started to slide out," he said.

"It was sliding down towards a jogger and I just tried to steer it away from hitting him. Everything after that is just a blur."

He suffered extensive bruising, but was otherwise unharmed.

The jogger flagged down a couple in a passing car, who took Mr Forrest to his parents' house.

"Stephen can't remember what they looked like or even what car they were driving," said Mrs Forrest.

"We would really like to find them to say thank you."

The couple who helped Mr Forrest are asked to contact reporter Dan Jenkins at The Northern Echo on (01207) 280613.