A COUPLE will appear in court this morning charged in connection with a hit-and-run accident which claimed the life of a six-year-old girl.

Colin Meek and Emma Jayne Lee face several charges in connection with the death of little Leonie Shaw.

And, in a rare legal move, these include cruelty to children in relation to Leonie - an offence which carries a maximum sentence of ten years behind bars.

Meek, 34, of Salvin Street, Spennymoor, and his 21-year-old partner Lee, of the same address, will appear before Sedgefield Magistrates Court, sitting at Newton Aycliffe.

The death of Leonie, which caused outrage in her home town of Bishop Auckland, happened on Saturday evening. She was struck by a car and fatally injured as she crossed a road to buy sweets a few hundred yards from her home.

It is alleged the driver of the car stopped briefly but then drove on. Leonie was taken to Bishop Auckland General Hospital, but died with her mother Michelle at her bedside.

Banks of flowers and cards have appeared at the spot on the A688 Bishop Auckland bypass as the community offered its condolences to Michelle and her sisters Jade, ten, and Emily, three.

Meek and Lee were arrested in Middlesbrough on Tuesday and taken to Bishop Auckland police station where they were held for questioning until they were charged last night.

Meek will face six charges in connection with the incident - including cruelty to children and causing death by dangerous driving - an offence which also carries a maximum of ten years imprisonment.

He has also been charged with failure to stop after an accident, failure to report a road accident, driving without insurance and being an unaccompanied provisional licence holder.

Lee has been charged with cruelty to children and aiding and abetting failure to stop after an accident.