Stolen car 'driven at up to 90mph' ahead of crash

Eight people were taken to hospital after the stolen car hit Highcliffe Care Home in Sunderland

A stolen BMW had been travelling at up to 90mph (145km/h) before it crashed into a care home during a police chase and injured several residents, a court has heard.

Driver Sam Asgari-Tabar and passenger Reece Parish, both 21, ploughed into Highcliffe Care Home in Sunderland on 9 July after taking the vehicle from a woman during a test drive.

They pleaded guilty to robbery at a previous hearing at Newcastle Crown Court with Asgari-Tabar also admitting causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Appearing again on Monday via a videolink from Durham Prison, the court heard the floor of the building's upstairs lounge collapsed on to residents below. The pair will be sentenced on 11 November.

Prosecutors said Asgari-Tabar and Parish went to check out the car, which was advertised for sale on Facebook, before they drove off with a terrified woman who was selling it on behalf of a relative still in it.

They eventually managed to remove her before speeding off again.

Northumbria Police officers had been following the BMW, which had been reported stolen from an address in Fenham, Newcastle, at about 21:20 BST.

It crashed into the care home, in the Witherwack area of Sunderland, about 15 minutes later.

Eight people were taken to hospital. One of those seriously injured was a 93-year-old woman who had to be dug out by emergency workers.

Her son said she had been enjoying an evening socialising with other residents when the car crashed into building.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, he said: "My mother has lost a lot of independence we valued before the crash. She's lost a lot of mobility she once had, now needing to be moved around in a wheelchair."

He added staff had since told him "she's not same person they knew before".

Reece Parish (left) and Sam Asgari-Tabar have been told to expect prison sentences

The prosecution told the court repairs to the building would cost £260,000.

Parish also admitted a charge of violent disorder after he joined in the widespread trouble in Sunderland city centre last August.

Asgari-Tabar was already serving a suspended sentence for attacking family members and had been banned from driving.

In mitigation, Parish, of Fordham Road, Sunderland, was described as being "in work" and "a lad with some sensible prospects".

Asgari-Tabar, meanwhile, of no fixed abode, was said to be remorseful and deeply ashamed of his behaviour.

However, they were told by the judge they faced "substantial" jail sentences.

The day after the crash, police confirmed two women - one in her 80s and one in her 90s - had died, although the Independent Office for Police Conduct has confirmed their deaths were not linked to the incident.