A DRIVER was racing another vehicle when he slammed head-on into a car from which the occupants had to be cut free and airlifted to hospital, a court was told.

Arkadiusz Margol, a Polish national, is accused of driving dangerously on the A167 between Darlington and Northallerton, where the accident happened at about noon on February 27, last year.

Mr Margol, 29, of Market Place, Thirsk, North Yorkshire, who denies the offence, is being tried in his absence after he failed to appear at Teesside Crown Court.

David Brooke, prosecuting, said the defendant was attempting to overtake a BMW car on what he described as a blind corner near Great Smeaton, Northallerton.

During the manoeuvre he clipped a van and trailer and then ploughed head-on into a VW Passat being driven in the opposite direction on the right side of the road.

The Passat was left a wreck, but remarkably the occupants Vivian and Tracy Atkinson, from the Darlington area, escaped with a broken ankle and broken wrist, respectively.

They had to be cut free by firefighters and were airlifted later to hospital.

Mr Brooke said the couple had seen the Volvo driven by the defendant “coming towards them at very fast speed, wobbling out of control”.

He said there had been some element of racing in Mr Margol’s driving and said it was very clearly a case of dangerous driving.

He described how in the aftermath of the crash, Mr Margol was seen crouching near his vehicle, smoking a cigarette and making a mobile phone call.

The defendant was arrested by police and given a breath test, which was negative.

Peter Manson, a college lecturer, said he had been overtaken by the Volvo just before the crash, which then braked sharply and “dived” into a gap between his Ford Focus and the van in front.

He was then overtaken by a BMW travelling very fast, which then pulled out and overtook the Volvo and van.

The Volvo then attempted to overtake the van on the brow of a hill, which was the last Mr Manson saw of the vehicle until he arrived at the scene of the crash moments later.

He said he had been travelling at between 50 and 55mph, but was unable to estimate the exact speed of the Volvo.

Mr Manson said: “Bloody idiots is what I said to my wife. I thought they were racing.”

The trial continues.