A DRIVER and his passenger died of massive internal injuries after they were involved in a collision at one of Teesside's most notorious accident blackspots, an inquest heard yesterday.

An inquest at Teesside Magistrates' Court heard how a Peugeot 309 and a Fiat Punto collided in Durham Lane, which links Eaglescliffe with the A66, resulting in the death of Craig McLean, 22, and James Weastell, 30.

The 60mph limit single carriageway has been the scene of a number of accidents and near-misses in recent years.

Mr McLean was driving his Peugeot, with Mr Weastell as his passenger, to Stockton for a night out on June 15 last year, when he failed to negotiate a bend near the old brickworks.

The car moved diagonally across to the south carriage way, where it collided with the Fiat being driven by Alan Grieve, of Eaglescliffe, the inquest heard.

Mr Grieve told the court that he was driving at about 50mph when he became aware of a white car coming towards him.

He said the car did not appear to be negotiating the bend and went straight on across the carriageway.

He said: "I took my foot off the accelerator to the brake pedal, but do not believe I had time to press it. It happened so quickly."

Both Mr McLean, of Middleton St George, Darlington, and Mr Weastell, of Eaglescliffe, suffered internal haemorrhaging in the accident, which resulted in their deaths.

PC Sharon Smith, of the Crash Investigation Unit in Middlesbrough, told the court she thought Mr McLean's car had been travelling at 49mph.

She said: "The car could have been on the wrong side of the road because the driver had lost control of the vehicle."

She said that the accident could have been due to the car's speed or to road conditions.

"The 49mph was what we calculated the Peugeot was travelling at the time of impact, and we have no means of estimating at what speed it was travelling before the collision."

Coroner Michael Sheffield said he was satisfied that both men had died from their injuries and recorded a verdict of accidental death.