A MOTORIST was seen "driving like a lunatic" before he was involved in a head-on crash, a court heard.

David Sunderland was at the wheel of a Porsche when the accident happened at Longridge in July last year.

The 23-year-old, of Brook Bottom House, Stonyhurst, pleaded guilty at Preston Crown Court to dangerous driving.

He was fined £1,000 with £500 costs and banned for eighteen months, after which he will have to take a re-test before going back on the road.

The court was told that Sunderland had been travelling on Knowle Green Road, Longridge, when he overtook another vehicle.

He was on the other side of the carriageway when the crash happened.

Another man, Brian Law, suffered whiplash injuries. Sunderland and a passenger were also hurt and taken to hospital, said Miss Rachael Woods, prosecuting.

John Jackson, defending, said the accident had occurred on a stretch of road where there was a dip.

"He knew there was a dip, but he didn't make certain there was another car in the dip.

"This was not a man who took a chance, but a person who assessed the situation, but got it wrong."

Sunderland, who will soon be a qualified auctioneer, had no previous convictions.

Recorder Robert Fordham QC said a witness had described the defendant as driving like a lunatic. He had overtaken in dangerous circumstances.

If life-threatening injury or death had resulted from the accident, he would have gone to prison.