A DRIVER suffered burns after his car crashed into the wall of an electricity sub-station.

The man had been travelling along the West Auckland to Etherley road in the early hours of Sunday morning, when he lost control of his car and smashed into the wall of an electricity sub-station.

It is thought the violence of the impact threw him from the vehicle, which then caught fire, and emergency services arriving at the scene discovered him with burns, a broken leg and suspected concussion.

The two fire crews from Crook and Bishop Auckland put out the blaze and paramedics rushed the man to Darlington Memorial Hospital.

A representative from the electricity board was called out to deal with the damage to the sub-station perimeter.