A FAMILY have paid tribute to a loving father and friend who lived to make people laugh.

Norman Rayner's children said they would always remember him for his sense of humour.

The father-of-four died from multiple injuries after his son's Ford Fiesta was involved in a collision with a Peugeot 406 on the minor road between Willington and Binchester, County Durham, on Wednesday afternoon.

His son, Barrie, 24, who was driving the car, escaped with minor injuries. Barrie Rayner's wife, Joanne, 21, was taken by air ambulance to Middlesbrough General Hospital with a broken kneecap and thigh.

Yesterday, Barrie said of his father: "He was a card. He was as dry as sticks and he could talk for England. He would pass the time of day with anyone.''

Mr Rayner lived in Acacia Gardens, Crook, County Durham, with his daughters Leanne, 19, and Marie. He also had two sons Barrie and Paul, 21.

He loved to potter around Barrie's garage, Station 4x4, in Ferryhill Station, and would often go with him to work.

Mr Rayner's estranged wife, Susan, said that although they were about to be divorced they had remained friends.

She said: "We talked all the time. He was the kind of man who could walk into a room full of strangers and be friends with everybody within minutes."

Meanwhile a driver was last night in a stable condition in hospital after suffering multiple injuries in a separate head-on car crash in the region.

Firefighters took two hours to cut the man from the wreckage of his vehicle after the smash on the B6278 Eggleston to Barnard Castle road in County Durham, at 5.50pm on Wednesday.

It appears that a Volvo 850 overtook a Nissan Micra when it collided head-on with a Land Rover travelling in the opposite direction.

The 35-year-old driver, believed to work at GlaxoSmithKline, in Barnard Castle, suffered two broken arms, a broken femur and other injuries.

He was last night said to be poorly, but stable in Middlesbrough General Hospital.

Anyone who witnessed the accident is asked to contact Durham Police Accident Investigation Unit on 0191-386 4929.