A teenager almost died on a notorious road - just days ahead of a meeting between safety campaigners, police and council highways chiefs to discuss the route.

The 17-year-old, from the Coundon area of County Durham, was catapulted 70ft after smashing through the windscreen of a Ford Mondeo when it smashed on its side into an electricity post in Middlestone Village, near Spennymoor, on Thursday night.

The teenager, who had been sitting in the front passenger seat, was fighting for his life in Newcastle General Hospital after emergency surgery yesterday morning.

Three other teenagers, the 18-year-old male driver from Bishop Auckland, a 14-year-old girl from Kirk Merrington and a 17-year-old youth from Coundon, escaped with minor injuries.

Villagers say the accident is the latest in a long list of near-tragedies to hit the hamlet, which is considered too small to qualify for a 30mph speed limit.

Teacher Jill Hilditch has counted 16 smashes in the last ten years - including three since the end of August.

The mother-of-three was feet away from disaster when the car careered across the road and demolished her front wall.

She said: "The noise was like thunder. It is only a few weeks since our car was almost written off in front of the house.

"There is nothing to stop cars coming through here at 60mph. They go into a dip in the road and lose control.

"There is no pavement to walk on, and crossing the road is a nightmare. There are ten children in the village and we daren't let them out. It has got so bad we might have to move."

Council officers were already set to meet villagers and police in The Ship Inn on October 27.