A RALLY enthusiast has described the carnage after a rally car ploughed into spectators during a race, killing a young boy, and said: "It could have been me."

Nigel Slater, 33, and his friend John Mercer, both of Burnley, were standing just yards away from where the Vauxhall Nova landed after losing control and somersaulting through the air.

Moments earlier the two men had thought about standing at the spot but then changed their minds and watched the rally from the other side of the course.

Northumbria Police today named the dead boy as Marc Taylor, from Gateshead. His cousin Christopher Hymers, also from Gateshead, is being treated for head and internal injuries. Four other spectators were also injured.

"It was absolutely awful," said Nigel, of The Meadows, a life-long rally fan. "It all happened in front of our eyes, literally yards away.

"We saw the Nova coming down the straight and he took a 45 degree right turn. As he took the turn the driver lost control and the car went onto the grass on the left hand side of the road and flipped on its side. "It started somersaulting towards the spectators and went up in the air. They were standing on a pile of rubble about four feet high. As the car came towards them they tried to run but the kid didn't stand a chance.

"The car seemed to hit him as it went through the air and as it came down it hit the group of adults with him and came to a stop on its roof.

"We were all standing there stunned and no one did anything for about five seconds. People ran to get the guys out of the car and help the injured but I couldn't cope with it all. It was obvious the little lad was dead and there were people screaming."

"I've been competing and watching rallying for years but I wouldn't care if I never saw a rally again," he said.

Rally driver Lee Sharples, of Darwen, had already driven his Nova through the stage but Padiham's Alan Douglas had yet to get off the starting line.

Speaking in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph before the event, Lee said: "They are formidable roads, very narrow with wide ditches on either side.

"If you slide off or make a mistake of any sort, you are in big trouble."

The accident happened around 10.30am yesterday during the opening round of the Apex Cheviot National rally, part of the Safety Devices Tarmac championship at Otterburn Army training camp.

The driver and navigator of the rally car were taken to Hexham General Hospital but their injuries were not thought to be serious.

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