A MAN accused of driving a car that struck and killed a teenager on a playing field confessed to his girlfriend he did it, a court heard.

Dean English, 22, is alleged to have been driving a stolen Ford Escort which hit 15-year-old Ian Gourley on the Pony Fields, off Eden Lane, Peterlee, east Durham, shortly before 8.30pm last November 19.

Ian, of Lakemore, Peterlee, was confirmed dead from head injuries at hospital less than an hour later.

The Escort was said to have been driven to a ravine 800 metres from the fields after Ian was struck, before it was set on fire.

Mr English, of Basingstoke Road, Peterlee, denies causing death by dangerous driving and arson of the car. He told police he had been driving the car earlier, but got out shortly before the incident.

On the third day of his trial, at Durham Crown Court, the jury heard evidence from Mr English's girlfriend at the time, Emma Baldwin.

She said she visited him at the flat of two friends in Peterlee on November 21 and asked him if he did it.

Asked what his reply was, Miss Baldwin told the court he said "yes, I did it".

She said he was upset and had his head in his hands.

The court heard he was arrested at her house the next morning, and in two letters sent to her while he was in custody, he told her he planned to plead guilty and that he expected to receive a sentence of at least six years.

The court heard that in a further letter, by which time Miss Baldwin was living with her mother in Essex, he said he was going to say someone else was the driver of the car, and said he wanted to see her about the "lies" she made to police.

The trial continues.