A 20-year-old man injured when a car hit a wall on Saturday night was critical but stable in Middlesbrough General Hospital last night.

He was a front seat passenger in a blue Vauxhall Cavalier which failed to negotiate a T-junction near Barnard Castle, County Durham. The car demolished 15ft of wall at the bottom of Deerbolt Bank.

The 25-year-old driver and the three back seat passengers, aged between 24 and 31, were detained in Darlington Memorial Hospital with a range of injuries, which police said were not life-threatening.

Anyone who saw the accident, at about 11.30pm, is asked to contact police on 0191-386-4929.