GAZETTE & HERALD: DRIVER Matthew Brock, who was involved in a serious accident in March, has been fined £150 and disqualified from driving for six months.

The 20-year-old pleaded guilty to careless driving at Chippenham Magistrates' Court on Monday and was ordered to pay £35 costs.

Brock, from Melksham, was driving a Citroen Saxo between Gastard and Whitley, near Corsham, on March 22 when he collided head-on with Anne Terrell's Ford Focus.

Mrs Terrell suffered bruising to her chest and thigh in the accident, while Brock's girlfriend at the time, a 17-year-old from Melksham, was hospitalised for two-and-a-half weeks with a fractured spine.

Firefighters had to cut her free by removing the car's roof, as the passenger side was crushed by the impact.

Brock was airlifted to Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, but was released with minor injuries.

The court heard how Brock was driving his car at 60mph while negotiating a corner.

He said he felt a judder in his steering wheel and lost control of the car.

It hit a verge and swerved on to the opposite side of the road, hitting Mrs Terrell's car.

Brock told police that he thought the tyre pressures on his car had caused it to understeer as he went round the corner and that is why he lost control.

He told the court in a letter: "I'm extremely sorry for what happened.

"It is a night that I will never forget for as long as I live."