POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a motorist was left fighting for his life following a head-on collision between two cars.

The accident involved two VW Passat cars on the A6072 West Auckland Road, at Shildon, County Durham, at about 12.50pm on Sunday. (November 9)

It involved a silver Passat driven by a 21-year-old Shildon man who was unhurt. He was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and released on bail pending further enquiries.

The front seat 19-year-old female passenger, from Bishop Auckland, suffered a minor leg injury

A rear passenger, a 22-year-old Shildon man, suffered a serious head injury. He is in the James Cook University Hospital, in Teesside, in a critical condition.

The other driver, a 46-year-old man from Bishop Auckland, in a blue Passat suffered a fractured knee cap. He is in Darlington Memorial Hospital.

His passenger, a 28-year-old man, from Bishop Auckland, was unhurt.

Witnesses to the crash are asked to contact Durham Police’s road policing unit on 101.