A HORROR road crash which left a woman paralysed after a "rubber-necking" driver ploughed into the back of her is being highlighted by police to show the dangers of distraction.

Probation worker Marilyn McKnight, 60, was left paralysed in all four limbs and torso after her car was hit from behind by 44-year-old Craig Harding's VW Polo on the A19 on March 15 last year - Mother's Day.

Mr Harding was distracted by another crash on the opposite side of the road, losing concentration for just one-and-a-half to two seconds.

The National Police Chief's Council launches a week-long campaign today aiming to raise awareness of the dangers of using mobile phones or being distracted at the wheel.

Dramatic footage of the A19 incident has been released to show the dangers of being distracted even for a second.

Harding, of Houghton-le-Spring, was driving at just 45 mph at the time when he ploughed into the back of Mrs McKnight's Ford Ka, which was almost stationary at the time, sending it onto its roof.

Mrs McKnight was travelling with son, Kevin and daughter-in-law, Rachael. Both she and her son had to be freed from the vehicle by emergency services.

Mrs McKnight, who was on her way to see her elderly mother in South Shields, was treated at the roadside by paramedics and the air ambulance crew before being taken to hospital.

She suffered the loss of sight in one eye, internal injuries and severe spinal injuries, which left her unable to walk and with only limited arm movement,

Despite her horrific injuries she was said to have forgiven Harding, who was charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving. His original prison sentence was lowered following an appeal earlier this month, to ten months in prison, and he was banned from driving for two years and five months.

Senior Investigating Officer Inspector Harry Simpson, from the Cleveland and Durham Specialist Operations Unit, said: "This footage shows what could happen should you not be giving your full attention to the road ahead.

"It's worrying to think that a family day out should end up in such carnage.

"It only takes a split second for something like this to happen. Whether you're travelling at speed or not, please bear in mind the damage that can happen if you take your eyes off the road."

In the last five years in Cleveland and Durham there have been 73 people injured in crashes involving a driver on a mobile phone.

Of these, five were seriously injured and three were killed.

In the same period 499 people were injured in collisions involving a driver distracted by a sat nav, radio, children, or a wasp, and of these five people were killed and 34 seriously injured.