A YOUNG driver abandoned his van and pretended to be an innocent bystander after knocking down a pensioner on a quiet country lane.

Sixty-eight-year-old Margaret O'Sullivan was left injured in the road when she was hit by a van driven Daniel Robert England.

But instead of trying to help the woman, England pretended to be a walker who had chanced upon her body.

The pensioner suffered injuries, which would have left her paralysed from the neck down. But she died five months later from heart failure and spinal cord compression.

Peterlee Magistrates' Court heard how 23-year-old England had been on a night out with his girlfriend and a friend, John Martin Storey, when the accident happened.

He later told police he had been driving on the darkened B1283, near Sherburn Village, in County Durham, when his car struck an object. He then saw a woman's body hit the bonnet and then the windscreen.

Sheila Moore, prosecuting, said that England and his girlfriend got out of the van and walked back to where the body lay in the road.

Storey got into the driver's seat and drove the van away. The damaged vehicle was later found several miles away, near Wingate, with the engine still running and the lights on.

An attempt had been made to set it on fire.

Before England and his girlfriend could reach Mrs O'Sullivan's body, a recovery truck had stopped to help.

England told truck driver, Stephen Thompson, that he had been out walking when he heard a bang and went to investigate.

Yesterday, England, of Victoria Street, Shotton Colliery, pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention and failing to report an accident.

Storey, 27, of Moor Lane, Wingate, admitted taking a car without consent and driving without insurance.

A breath test proved he had not been under the influence of alcohol.

The judge accepted the crash had been a terrible accident, saying: "I do accept this was a momentary lapse of concentration resulting in the catastrophic injuries to this lady, which I am sure contributed to her death."

But on the charge of failing to report an accident, he said England's behaviour was worse than a hit and run, adding: "I have to warn you I am considering a custodial sentence."

Storey was fined £150 for driving without consent, £100 for driving without insurance, given six penalty points and ordered to pay £200 costs.

The case against England was adjourned until March 20 to allow reports to be prepared.