A TEENAGER has been given a suspended prison sentence after leaving a couple unable to work for months when he drove recklessly.

Alexander Doig, of Woodlands Park, Pickering, cried in the dock as York Crown Court heard he crossed double white lines in his Vauxhall Astra 1.6 SXI to overtake a car on a hidden dip on the A171 between Whitby and Guisborough on the May Day bank holiday this year.

A female driver coming the other way in a Renault Clio said Doig “came out of nowhere” and, although she swerved to avoid a head on collision, they crashed.

Doig, who pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, was not speeding, but Camille Morland, prosecuting, said the 19-year-old had performed a “dangerous manoeuvre” and the driver suffered severe injuries.

The crash fractured the driver’s sternum and tibia, she broke three ribs and fractured a bone in her back, leaving her “in agony” for six weeks. Her fiancee also broke his heel in the smash and has been off work for months.

Ms Morland told the court: “She was sleeping for 15 minutes for a number of weeks and had to manage constant pain and distress due to that. The position in October was that she had to be propped up during sleep and had to be cared for.

“Her fiancée had to take a lot of time off work and is now on statutory sick pay, and their income has halved. It has had an impact on their personal lives, like hobbies, and they are still suffering because of the incidents of that day.”

Ms Morland said the driver still suffers flashbacks, but cannot avoid driving because of her work.

Adam Birkby, defending Doig, said the teenager offered an unreserved and full apology to his victims. Mr Birkby said: “He accepts full responsibility for what he knows was an unnecessary manoeuvre and potentially fatal manoeuvre.

“He is devastated that this split second decision has such long reaching consequences and is very sorry for the pain and suffering the couple has suffered.”

The court heard Doig worked two jobs – as a lifeguard at the Ryedale and Pickering swimming baths and at Pickering’s Yorkshire Trading Company shop – spread over 54 hours a week.

He has not got behind the wheel of a car since the crash, choosing to walk or cycle instead.

His Honour Judge Andrew Stubbs QC sentenced him to nine months in a young offenders’ institution, suspended for 18 months. Doig was banned from driving for three years and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.