A MAN has appeared in court charged with causing serious injury to a family after he allegedly drove in to oncoming traffic.

David Smith, 28, of Clifford Bridge Road, Coventry, is facing four charges over the road crash which happened at the Elveden crossroads on the A11, near Thetford, on January 5.

The crash injured five people including three children who cannot be named because of legal reasons.

Land and air ambulances, fire crews and police were called to the two-vehicle crash which blocked the road in both directions at about 2.30pm.

The collision, between a Volkswagen Golf and a Toyota vehicle, closed the road for several hours.

Fire crews from Mildenhall and Thetford stabilised the vehicles and then removed the casualties from the wreckage with the help of paramedics.

By 3.30pm some of the casualties had been released and taken to hospital by land and air ambulances.

Others remained trapped until 4.10pm when all casualties had been freed and taken to hospital.

Diversions were put in place and the road remained closed for almost six hours before being opened at 8.15pm.

Smith, who gave no indication of plea, has been charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving, driving a motor vehicle without an appropriate licence, driving a vehicle without the consent of the owner and using a vehicle without insurance.

He was given unconditional bail and is to return to West Suffolk Magistrates’ Court on June 25.