A young woman is fighting for her life today and her teenage sister has serious injuries after a road smash near York.

Their red Renault 5 was in a head-on collision with a black Vauxhall Nova on a double bend on the road between Copmanthorpe and Acaster Malbis.

The 19-year-old driver of the Vauxhall, James Ellerker, of Miller's Court, Copmanthorpe, and his 24-year-old friend, Paul Abernethy, of Top Lane, Copmanthorpe, suffered minor injuries in the crash, which saw both cars bounce sideways into a hedge.

The 17-year-old Renault driver, Linda Marie Laycock, of Keble Park North, Bishopthorpe, was trapped in the wreckage until firefighters freed her using cutting equipment. She was this afternoon comfortable at York District Hospital.

Her sister, Caroline Laycock, 19, was in the passenger seat and was unconscious throughout the rescue. She was todayundegoing surgery at Leeds General Infirmary. Residents living on the road, which runs between Copmanthorpe and Acaster Malbis, rushed outside after hearing the crash.

Lyn Parkinson, an off-duty special constable who lives nearby, said: " The girl in one car was unconscious and I checked she was still breathing. I tried to keep the other girl calm. We could not get the door open and she was panicking a bit. Luckily, the ambulance arrived very quickly."

The collision happened shortly after 7.30pm yesterday just outside Copmanthorpe.

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