A WOMAN from the North-East has been charged with causing the death of an elderly couple in a road smash.

Brenda Emerson, 44, of Bishopton Road, Stockton, is accused of causing the deaths of Charles and Lorna Crane on the A66 in Cumbria last November.

Emerson appeared before West Allerdale Magistrates Court in Workington, where she was charged with careless driving while over the drink driving limit.

She also faced a separate charge of drink driving and another of driving a vehicle with a defective tyre.

Mr Crane, 80, and his 69-year-old wife, from Cockermouth, were travelling back from a fireworks evening in Penrith when they were involved in a three-car smash on the Threlkeld bypass on November 6 at 8.30pm.

The pensioners, who were travelling in a Peugeot 306, were both pronounced dead at the scene.

Emerson, who was driving a Fiat Brava, was seriously injured in the accident and underwent surgery at Carlisle's Cumberland Infirmary.

A Workington woman driving a Nissan Almera suffered slight injuries. The road was blocked for six hours.

Mr Crane, a lawyer, was well known in Cumbria for his work as the former chief executive of Allerdale Borough Council.

The high-pressured post was the high spot in his long career in local government.

He retired in 1986, but both he and his wife were involved in youth projects and charities when they were killed.

Hundreds of friends and family attended the funeral service of the couple, who had been married for 25 years.

Emerson, who appeared in court on Friday, is due back before the magistrates court on June 9.