A DISQUALIFIED driver who was responsible for the deaths of two women in a car crash has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Teesside Crown Court was told how Stephen Dack, 43, who is deaf and also without speech, lost control of his van on the A67, between Gainford and Piercebridge, near Darlington.

He ran over farmer's wife Irene Stephenson, killing her almost instantly.

The impact sent the van swerving across the carriageway and it then collided head- on with a car travelling in the opposite direction, killing passenger Sarah Thompson, 88, and seriously injuring her daughter, Carol.

The court heard that Dack, who worked as a labourer for construction company Mow-lem, had been disqualified for drink driving a few months earlier, but failed to tell his employer because he feared losing his job.

Dack, who admitted aggravated vehicle taking, causing death and driving while disqualified and without insurance, told police that he must have fallen asleep or passed out at the time of the accident on the afternoon of December 5, 2002.

However, medical reports failed to find any evidence that he was suffering from a related condition.

Deborah Sherwin, prosecuting, said that Dack, of Walker, Newcastle, who was delivering steel, was seen to come off the road in his blue Vauxhall van and mount a grass verge, hitting Mrs Stephenson.

The 57-year-old, who lived in a nearby farm with husband Peter, had been clearing rubbish away from a verge.

Witnesses said there was no attempt to brake or avoid a collision with Mrs Stephenson and the van then swerved and hit the Peugeot 106 in which Mrs Thompson was a passenger. They were pulled from the car by a passing ambulance crew, who saw flames coming from the bonnet.

Mrs Stephenson and Mrs Thompson, of Meadowfield Road, Darlington, were declared dead, while Carol Thompson, 55, was left with serious leg injuries.

Christopher Knox, for Dack, said his client expressed sincere remorse for the accident and wished to apologise to the families.

Mr Knox said that Dack, who required an interpreter in court, had extreme difficulty communicating and would be left utterly isolated if sent to prison.

Dack, who was disqualified for life, will serve two-and-a- half years with a concurrent four-month sentence for driving while disqualified.