ONLY "divine intervention" prevented a fatality in a head-on crash on a dark rural road, a court was told.

The comments were made by a crown court recorder who accused Kenneth Raine of "arrogance" in claiming his driving prior to the accident was not dangerous.

Raine, 49, was at the wheel of a Ford Scorpio which collided with an oncoming Peugeot car while overtaking on the brow of a hill on unlit Holmhill Lane, near Durham.

Both vehicles were badly damaged, and the Peugeot driver, a woman in her twenties, receiving serious injuries.

Durham Crown Court was told she suffered fractures to her leg and shoulder and spent 14 weeks in hospital.

Almost a year after the accident, the support teacher had been unable to return to work, was likely to suffer severe arthritis and would need an early hip replacement.

Chris Morrison, mitigating, said Raine, a former bus driver, had also been unable to work since the accident due to hand injuries he sustained.

Raine, of Staindrop Road, Newton Hall, Durham, admitted careless driving, but denied dangerous driving. He was found guilty by a jury on December 1.

Returning for sentence yesterday, Recorder David Hatton QC told Raine his driving was "appalling". Raine was ordered to perform 180 hours of community service and pay £820 costs.