A YOUNG couple have told how they feared for their lives after their car skidded, flipped over twice and came to rest upside down in the middle of an unlit road.

Jamie Espin and Andrea Hall are calling for the bend where they crashed in the early hours of Sunday (August 17) to be illuminated, signposted and fitted with speed bumps in an attempt to stop further accidents.

Police told them and passenger Gemma Morgan they were lucky to be alive after the smash on Lady’s Piece Lane, near Pittington, County Durham.

Ms Hall, a 28-year-old barmaid, said: “I remember the car veering out of control.

“I didn’t know if it was going to blow up. We know we’re extremely lucky to be alive.”

Mr Espin, a doorman, had just finished a shift in Chester-le-Street and was driving Ms Morgan home from the couple’s house in Carrville when the crash happened, at about 3am.

The 25-year-old, who estimates he was driving at about 40mph on the 60mph stretch from Low Pittington towards Sherburn Village, lost control of his Ford Fiesta near the junction with Hallgarth Lane.

After hitting a puddle, the car skidded across the road, struck the opposite verge then flipped twice.

It stopped on its passenger side in the middle of the road, its lights pointing off into a field.

Terrified another car might hit them, Mr Espin managed to climb out.

But the car then turned onto its roof and Ms Hall and Ms Morgan had to climb out a back door.

Ms Hall suffered a head injury, although no-one’s injuries were serious.

Mr Espin said: “In my head it happened really slowly.

“My first concern was for Andrea and Gemma.

“The most worrying thing was someone wouldn’t see the car and they would hit it.”

Now the couple want the road made safer, Ms Hall having also been involved in an accident there ten years ago.

Adrian White, Durham County Council’s head of transport, said: “Addressing problems on roads which are known to have a significant accident history is a priority for us.

“Accidents on this particular stretch of road are rare and we target our resources towards those areas which give the greatest cause for concern.”

Mr Espin and Ms Hall thanked other motorists who stopped to help following the crash.