A MOTHER-OF-TWO has denied leaving her husband to drown after the stolen car they were in careered into the River Tyne.

Sharon Dixon escaped from the vehicle, but her husband, George, who she said was driving, drowned after being knocked unconscious.

Following an inquest, during which she was criticised by Mr Dixon's family, she said she had memory loss following the August 7 crash.

It happened when a Ford Fiesta Mr Dixon, know as Geordie, had stolen careered off a cycle path next to the Tyne, near Pelaw, Gateshead.

Hours later, 28-year-old Mrs Dixon called her husband's family and police and claimed he had gone to buy cigarettes and had not returned. She only admitted her involvement two days later

Mrs Dixon, of Oakfield Terrace, Pelaw, said: "I have a doctor's certificate which says that I was suffering from temporary memory loss.

"I thought I was going to die that night. I didn't have much breath left and I know if Geordie had been in any physical state, he would have got out."

Traffic officer PC David Erhorn officer told the inquest: "There has been a suggestion that Sharon was driving. There is no evidence to support this - similarly, there is no evidence to rule it out."

Mr Dixon's mother Nora Dixon, of Harlequin Lodge, Felling, Gateshead, told coroner Terence Carney she believed Sharon was driving that night.

She is now considering a private prosecution against her daughter-in-law for fleeing the scene of an accident.

"I am determined to try to bring her to court because this will cut me up for the rest of my life," she said.

Recording an open verdict, the coroner described Sharon Dixon's behaviour in not seeking assistance for her husband as "bizarre".