A JUDGE has warned a driver who admitted causing the death of a young woman that he can expect to receive a lengthy prison sentence.

Lee Aaron Fitzgerald, 25, of Hartlepool, arrived at Teesside Crown Court yesterday on crutches, due to the injuries he sustained in the crash, in which Katharine Davis, 20, died last October.

After Fitzgerald entered the guilty plea, Judge Michael Taylor warned him: "You have admitted a very serious offence with many aggravating features.

"You must appreciate you will receive a substantial custodial sentence."

Miss Davis, a call centre trainee, was one of five people in a Rover 216GTi when it crashed and overturned in the early hours of October 1 last year.

The accident happened near the King George V field, in West View Road, Hartlepool, after a police car signalled for the hatchback to stop.

Fitzgerald, of Collingwood Road, was released on bail.

He is due to return to court for sentence on May 9.