A 21-YEAR-OLD MAN has appeared in court charged with causing death by dangerous driving after a road smash in which a teenager died.

And three other men have been charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice following the same incident.

Thomas Hetherington-Fogg, 17, of Hob Green, Mellor, died after his Nissan Primera Saloon car left Whalley Road near Barrow, Clitheroe, collided with a hedge, landed in a culvert and caught fire on Saturday April 8.

Oliver Ashley Lemas, 21, of Peel Park Avenue, Clitheroe is charged with causing Thomas's death by dangerous driving, failing to stop after an accident, failing to report an accident and fraudulently altering an excise licence.

Dorian Michael Tulloch, 22, of Chester Avenue, Clitheroe, Mark James Brown, 22, and David Alan Peter Brown, 19, both of Cockerill Terrace, Barrow, Whalley are all charged with conspiring together to pervert the course of justice by making a false statement in an attempt to mislead an investigation into the road traffic accident.

Passing motorists and residents raised the alarm and raced to the scene to help put out the flames after the accident. Former Ribblesdale High School student Thomas had worked at Whalley Motor Services as a trainee technician since leaving school 10 months before the accident. Christopher Dixon, 17, of Park Avenue, Clitheroe, also suffered multiple internal injuries in the accident. At the time police said they were interviewing the occupants of another car.

Yesterday, magistrates sent all matters to Preston Crown Court, where the defendants will appear for a preliminary hearing on January 10. They were all remanded on unconditional bail.

The dead man's father, Michael Hetherington-Fogg, a local government officer, was in court throughout the proceedings.