A MAN accused of being the driver of a car which crashed, seriously injuring two passengers, told police he had drunk about ten pints that day.

Both passengers, Donna Walker and Scott Leather, told Durham Crown Court yesterday that their friend, Graham Leigh, was driving the Honda Accord at the time of the crash, in February 1999.

But Mr Leigh, who was seen pulling the passengers unconscious from the wreckage of the car, before leaving the scene, denies a charge of dangerous driving.

The court was told the Honda was involved in an accident, on Black Boy Road, between Great Lumley, near Chester-le-Street, and Chilton Moor, near Houghton-le-Spring, shortly after 7pm, on a Saturday.

It lost control on a humped- back bridge on the County Durham boundary with Sunderland, colliding with a wall, and apparently flying through the air, before striking a tree.

The court heard Mr Leigh was seen walking away across a field. Police found him at Sunderland Royal Hospital later that night, when he gave a positive blood/alcohol sample.

In an interview with police, Mr Leigh said he had drunk about ten pints of lager that day, but claimed he was a passenger. He said he left the scene to seek help, and came across his uncle, who took him to hospital.

Mr Leather said that Mr Leigh was driving him and Miss Walker from the Old England pub, in Great Lumley, to the Free Gardeners, Fencehouses. He said he told Mr Leigh to slow down as he his driving was "crazy".

Mr Leigh, 24, of Avenue Vivian, Fencehouses, near Houghton-le-Spring, is expected to give evidence today.