A NOVICE motorcyclist has been banned from the roads for three years for causing an horrific accident on a notorious country lane "racing circuit".

Ross Huntington had passed his test just three weeks earlier when he overtook a car on a blind summit and caused a head-on crash.

The 26-year-old suffered serious injuries and had to be airlifted to hospital along with the driver of the Honda Civic he ploughed into.

A court heard yesterday that two passengers in the hatchback - returning from a family funeral - were also hurt in the April accident.

Huntington admitted dangerous driving and was given a nine-month prison sentence suspended a year and ordered to pay 170 costs.

He was also ordered to undergo 12 months of probation service supervision and take an extended driving test before being allowed back on the roads.

Judge George Moorhouse described Huntington's driving as "irresponsible" but accepted he had shown remorse and regret for his actions.

Teesside Crown Court heard the accident happened on the B1257 Chopgate to Helmsley road in North Yorkshire - known as the Helmsley TT.

Prosecutor Victoria Lamballe described the road as "notoriously treacherous" and "undulating with significant bends and winds".

Huntington, from Shotton Colliery, County Durham, was with a group of motorcyclists, but had fallen behind at the back of the convoy.

He overtook a white van and then a Renault Megane in what one witness described as "an unnecessary manoeuvre" on a blind hill.

Huntington's Yamaha crashed head-on with Nick Luffingham's Honda car and left both vehicles with "significant" damage, said Ms Lamballe.

Mr Luffingham's wife, Carolyn, and sister, Jane, suffered bruisng and trauma, while the driver sustained a brain injury and memory loss.

Huntington, of Kier Hardie Terrace, suffered breaks to both legs and a shoulder injury, but had no memory of the crash.

Analise Haugstad, mitigating, said although he had passed his biking test just three weeks earlier, Huntington had a three-year unblemished driving record.

"It is fortunate that Mr Luffingham appears to have made a good recovery," she said. "But the same cannot be said for the defendant, who is still suffering the consequences.

"He will have to have an operation on his hand because of added complications and has pins in his legs, and one is noticably shorter than the other.

"He has no recollection of the incident at all," added Miss Haugstad. "He was shown the photographs and cannot understand why he would have done what he did."