A MOTORIST remained in a critical condition last night after a head-on crash while apparently driving the wrong way down a dual carriageway.

The 45-year-old driver of a Ford Fiesta suffered a broken neck in the three-car collision on the A19, in County Durham, on Sunday evening.

He was taken to Sunderland Royal Hospital, where his condition was described as life-threatening.

It is understood that the man, from Houghton-le-Spring, Wearside, drove past a No entry sign at the Cold Hesledon interchange, to enter the A19 on an exit slip road, travelling south towards Hawthorn Services, on the northbound carriageway.

A collision took place, as the Fiesta allegedly crashed head-on with a Volkswagen Golf, two-thirds of a mile south of the interchange.

As the vehicles separated after the crash, an oncoming Vauxhall Astra apparently tried to get through the gap and also collided with the Golf.

The female driver of the Golf and her male passenger, both 28 and from the Seaham area of County Durham, suffered whiplash injuries and were treated at hospital before being released.

None of the five people in the Astra, all from Bedlington, Northumberland, were injured.

Durham Police's accident investigation unit has appealed for witnesses to the crash, which occurred at 6.56pm on Sunday.