A TEENAGE motorist involved in an accident at the weekend faces more than two weeks in hospital after extensive surgery.

Stuart Welch, of Masefield Crescent, Sunnybrow, near Bishop Auckland, underwent a six-hour operation on his right arm, which was badly damaged in the smash.

Doctors at the University Hospital of North Durham have warned the 17 year-old he could be in hospital for two and a half weeks recovering from a skin graft and may need further physiotherapy to keep the movement in his fingers.

He also has three broken toes and cuts and bruises on his legs and face.

Stuart had been driving his mother's Vauxhall Corsa on the A689, just outside Wolsingham in Weardale, on Saturday night when he swerved to miss a deer and careered into a tree.

The car then rolled over up to five times before a fire started in the engine and Stuart and two friends, Neil Clark and James Young, who were passengers in the car, escaped the vehicle seconds before it burst into flames.

Fire appliances from Stanhope and Crook Fire Stations were called to the scene and specialist breathing equipment was required to deal with the blaze and free the young men from the vehicle.

Neil, 16, of Willington, was released from the same hospital on Monday after treatment to his ankle, broken nose and facial injuries.

James, also 16, from Low Willington, sustained mostly cuts and bruises and was able to leave Bishop Auckland Hospital on the same night.

He said: "It was a scary experience, horrible to see my mates badly hurt."

Sandra Welch, Stuart's mother, said: "It has hit them all hard, they were all shaken up and I'm just thankful that they are all still with us.

"Lots of people have been concerned but now we can at least say he is through the worst."

Stuart, who works for a building firm, passed his driving test just a few weeks ago.

The trio were on their way home after seeing a group of friends at Wolsingham, when the accident happened at about 10.30pm, as Stuart drove along the A689, near Hare Law Farm, Wolsingham.