A YOUNG motorist’s car flipped over and landed back on its wheels when her boyfriend pulled on the handbrake as they had an argument, a court heard yesterday.

Emma Richardson and James Lynn were both hurt and needed hospital treatment after the accident on a slip-road to the A690 close to Durham City last October.

Lynn called police from the scene and initially told a control room operator that he thought the vehicle had been travelling too fast as it approached the main road.

The 19-year-old chef later claimed he had caught the handbrake with the strap of a bag as he moved it from the back seat to the front of the Fiat Seicento city car.

Eventually, he admitted that the pair had been arguing and he wanted to “sort it out”

and pulled the lever because he believed Miss Richardson was going too fast.

Teesside Crown Court heard that a witness saw the red car approaching at speed, suddenly flip over and land back on its wheels with heavy damage to its front and side.

Paul Lee, prosecuting, said the occupants got out and Lynn called police before they were taken to hospital – Miss Richardson with an ankle injury and Lynn with a sore arm.

Andrew Finlay, mitigating, told Judge George Moorhouse: “Essentially, this is a rush of blood to the head while Mr Lynn was having an argument with his girlfriend.

“It was a split-second decision he bitterly regrets. The entire experience of coming to court has been traumatising for him. He just wants to put this behind him.

“It’s been made all the more difficult that his partner has been pregnant and has recently given birth to their child. His life has changed immeasurably as a result.”

Judge Moorhouse heard how Lynn had never before been in trouble, and he was handed a bundle of references which described the teenager as a good worker with promise.

Lynn, of Rothbury Road, Newton Hall, Durham, admitted causing danger to road users by interfering with a vehicle – a charge which carries a maximum seven-year sentence.

He was fined £400 and ordered to pay a £400 contribution towards the cost of the prosecution, after being told by the judge: “This was a very silly thing to do.”