A MAN accused of being at the wheel of a car that ploughed into and killed a teenager yesterday denied causing death by dangerous driving.

Dean English also pleaded not guilty to aggravated vehicle taking and arson of the Ford Escort car following the fatal collision in Peterlee, east Durham, in November.

Mr English, 22, did plead guilty to a charge of driving the car while disqualified, in Eden Lane, Peterlee, on November 19.

Mr English appeared at Durham Crown Court with three co-accused, said to be passengers in the car at the time of the collision.

Eighteen-year-olds Lee Black and Shaun Morton both admitted aggravated vehicle taking and arson of the Escort.

The case involving the third alleged passenger, a 17-year-old, was adjourned until March 5 to see if he is fit to plead.

Judge Richard Lowden adjourned the hearing involving Mr English for a trial in May on the death by dangerous driving and aggravated vehicle taking charges.

Sentence on Black and Morton was adjourned until the outcome of the trial.

Mr English, of Basingstoke Road, Morton, of Robson Avenue, both Peterlee, and Black, of Rothbury Avenue, Horden, were remanded in custody until the hearings in May.

The 17-year-old was remanded in the care of the local authority until the hearing on March 5.

Ian Gourley, 15, of Lakemore, Peterlee, died in hospital from severe head injuries after the collision on a playing field off Eden Lane on the evening of November 19.

The Escort car said to have been involved in the collision was found destroyed by fire in a ravine about quarter of a mile away, a short time later.