TWO children asleep on a sofa were left shaken after a car crashed into a house with the occupants then making off.

The crash happened in Rosslare Road, Stockton, at about 1.50am on Saturday morning and led to the house being substantially damaged. The youngsters, meanwhile, were uninjured.

Police said an eyewitness saw a man, believed to be in his late teens, being dragged from the passenger seat of the silver Renault Megane. He had blood on his face and was thought to have been hurt.

The man and his rescuer were then collected by another Megane, this time black coloured, which drove them away from the scene.

Detective Sergeant Kenneth Clark, of Stockton police, said they were keen to trace the passenger and a man in his 20s in a grey tracksuit who dragged him out of the car.

Anyone with information should call 101 and ask for Cleveland Police.