A MAN has appeared in court accused of being at the wheel of a car, which was taken without authority, before being involved in a head-on collision.
Steven Bowes, 25, is charged with aggravated vehicle taking, dangerous driving, driving with excess alcohol, without insurance and without a licence.
It arises from a crash involving the Vauxhall Zafira, said to have been driven by Mr Bowes, and a car containing a couple and two young children, on Tanfield Industrial Estate, near Stanley, on September 6.
The Zafira was said to have been taken by the defendant earlier, in nearby Tanfield Lea.
Both vehicles were damaged in the collision.
No charges were put during a short preliminary hearing at Durham Crown Court on Tuesday (November 4).
Judge Robert Adams adjourned the case and bailed Mr Bowes, of Sycamore Terrace, Stanley, to return for a plea hearing, at the court, on Friday, January 16.
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