A MOTORIST has admitted causing a horrific head-on crash which claimed the life of three women.

Judge Peter Armstrong told Jak Parker he was facing a long prison sentence after the 23-year-old admitted three charges of causing death by dangerous driving.

Parker was driving a high-performance MG ZR car in Shotton Colliery, County Durham, on June 23 last year when a Fiat 500 travelling in the same direction collided with a Citroen Xsara coming the other way.

Prosecutors said it was Parker’s manner of driving which caused the crash.

Anne Peachey, 60, died on arrival at hospital and18-year-old Rebecca Learoyd was confirmed dead at the scene, while 19-year-old Megan Robinson died in Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary, two days later.

Mrs Peachey was at the wheel of the Citroen and Miss Learoyd was driving the Fiat, in which Miss Robinson was a passenger.

Parker, of Crimdon Terrace, Blackhall Colliery, appeared at Teesside Crown Court today (Friday) where he also admitted causing serious injuries by dangerous driving following a separate incident two weeks before the fatal crash.

The court heard Parker was involved in an collision which left pedestrian Jean Headley with a serious leg injury.

This incident occurred in Cemetery Road, Wheatley Hill, on June 8.

Judge Armstrong told Parker: "You are facing a substantial custodial sentence, but I will order a pre-sentence report so that the court has all information that is required."

The defendant was released on conditional bail which included a curfew preventing him from leaving the house between 9pm and 9am.

The judge issued an order immediately banning Parker from driving.

The teenagers killed in the crash where from the nearby village of Thornley and either studied or previously studied at East Durham College.

Mrs Peachey, of Sherburn Hill, near Durham, worked on the help desk at County Hall, in Durham, and was a long-serving former chairwoman of Shadforth Parish Council.

Her daughter, Joanne, 33, and 13-year-old granddaughter, Adele Harland, who were passengers in the Citroen, were both injured in the collision and received hospital treatment.

A second man, Roy Morrison, 20, of Drum Lane Caravan Site, Chester-le-Street, is charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving in connection with the incident on June 8 in Wheatley Hill.

He pleaded not guilty and is due to face trial in September.

Parker will be sentenced after this trial.