A MAN who left children injured at the scene of a horror crash and then lied to police about having his Land Rover stolen has been jailed for ten months.

Sam Horsfall, 29, was on the A59 near West Marton on October 21 last year when he lost control due to standing water on the road and collided with a Nissan Qashqai.

Prosecutor Philip Adams told Bradford Crown Court that the car’s driver, David Rimmer, described the crash as a “massive impact” that trapped him , his passenger, and his three grandchildren in the vehicle.

He was said to have “pleaded” with Horsfall to help the children – aged 15, 12, and ten - telling him: “I promise I’ve not seen you, just help my kids.”

Mr Adams said that after pausing for a moment, Horsfall “turned and ran”, taking refuge in a nearby field.

He called 999, but instead of alerting police to the crash, he said his Land Rover Defender had been stolen from outside a party he had been at in Gisburn.

The court heard last Friday that the first driver to arrive at the crash scene was an off-duty fireman, who came to Mr Rimmer’s aid and helped with his car’s smoking engine.

He was eventually freed from the car after being trapped for around 90 minutes with what at the time were deemed “life-threatening” injuries, including internal bleeding and fractures to his kneecap, ankle, and leg.

His passenger and all three children in the car were also injured and taken to hospital, with one child suffering a fractured sternum.

A victim impact statement read to the court said that the children were still plagued by the mental trauma of the crash, “crying at how much worse it could have been.”

When Horsfall was spoken to police at his home address in Becks Brow to Beecroft Lane, Wigglesworth, at 5.30am the following morning, he repeated his lie that his vehicle had been stolen, claiming he had been injured himself in giving chase.

Following his arrest he admitted his role in the crash, saying he had lied as he had “panicked” and been left “worried and frightened.”

Horsfall, who the court heard had a previous conviction for dangerous driving dating back to 2008, pleaded guilty to charges of perverting the course of justice, failing to report an accident, and failing to stop after an accident.

Ray Singh, defending, said it had been accepted that Horsfall was not criminally responsible for the crash.

He said his client felt remorse over his “selfishness” in fleeing the scene, and acknowledged his “ridiculous and stupid” decision to lie to police.

Judge Jonathan Rose said that by running away from the crash, Horsfall had left injured people not knowing “if they were alive or dead.”

He told him: “Not only did you run away, you said it was somebody else’s fault.

“I am sentencing you because you lied to police, you sought to pervert the course of justice and put the blame on others, not on you.

“It is an offence that strikes at the root of the justice system.”

Horsfall will be banned from driving for a year on his release from prison.