The trial of Fermanagh man Nathan Charles Phair, who denies causing the death by dangerous driving of tragic mum of one, Natasha Carruthers heard last Wednesday what the first people on the scene came across.

Her Vauxhall Corsa car, driven by Phair, had smashed in to tree on the outskirts of the village of Derrylin on October 7, 2017 following a 12-mile high speed chase along the country roads of Fermanagh allegedly arising out of a failed drug deal.

Phair (23) from Castlebalfour Park, who denies causing death, is also charged with causing grievous bodily injury to a second female passenger in the horror smash, and to possession of the Class A drug, Cocaine.

His Dungannon Crown Court trial heard from a local man who on hearing a loud bang phoned 999, telling the operator: "It looks very bad."

He and his wife took a torch and set off to see if they could assist. He went ahead, and was met with the sight of a crashed car on top of Natasha, while Phair was trapped in the driver's seat, and a second girl in the back of the car.

“I saw a young girl lying under where the engine should have been,” he said.

"The engine itself was down the field. There was no sign of life. I was trying to keep the road safe while waiting for the ambulance. I chatted to the girl in the back. She wanted out but her foot was trapped. She was crying, upset. I kept talking to her and said help was coming … The man in front (Phair) was moving, he was alive.”

And he added: “I looked around the field to see if there was anyone else about but there wasn’t. Another man arrived on the scene minutes after me. He said he met a car further down the road with the number plate hanging off.”

The man's wife, who said she had gone back to the house to get fluorescent jackets because she was concerned of further danger on the road in the dark, told of coming to the scene: "I came across the blue car. My husband was ringing emergency services. I could hear the girl screaming in the back. I saw the driver. He was breathing; he was unconscious. Then I saw the girl underneath. I saw her blonde hair and I became very distressed. My emotions got the better of me. I was really upset by it all.”

The trial continues.