TWO young unlicensed motorists who put other road users’ lives at risk were told to expect to receive custodial sentences.

The warning was given to Ellis Punshon and Rickylee Smith after they pleaded guilty to a series of charges which arose from a collision which left a mother and daughter in another car seriously injured.

Both defendants were at the wheel of Vauxhall vehicles, heading in the same direction on Chilton Lane, near Ferryhill, on Sunday December 3, when Punshon is said to have lost control of the Corsa he was driving, crossed the central white lines and collided with an oncoming car containing a family of three.

The woman in the front seat of that car and her 12-year-old daughter, a rear seat passenger, were both treated for extensive injuries and spent a fortnight or more in hospital.

Eighteen-year-old Punshon and Smith, 19, appeared at a plea hearing at Durham Crown Court.

Punshon admitted two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, charges denied by Smith, who did plead guilty to a single count of dangerous driving.

Both also admitted driving without insurance and other than in accordance with the licence.

Shaun Dryden, prosecuting, said, following consultation with the officer overseeing the case, and the injured woman and her husband, those pleas were considered, “acceptable” by the Crown.

Adjourning for preparation of pre-sentence reports, Judge Christopher Prince said: “Both defendants must put their affairs in order, because they must expect to receive custodial sentences, and both will be disqualified from driving in the intervening period.”

Punshon, of Colridge Road, Chilton, and Smith, of Hereford Street, Leeholme, near Bishop Auckland, were bailed to return for sentence on August 17.