A driver has denied being responsible for seriously injuring his passenger when his truck crashed in Pluckley.

Jack O'Donnell, 26, was at the wheel of a Toyota Hilux when the smash occurred near the junction of Sparrow Hatch Lane and Surrenden Road on May 19 last year.

He appeared at Canterbury Crown Court yesterday (Monday) and pleaded not guilty to causing serious injury to Robert King by dangerous driving.

O'Donnell, of Little Beachborough Cottages in Beachborough, Folkestone, also denied a charge of perverting the course of justice - namely arranging for evidence to be moved from a crime scene - on the same date.

In the court dock with him was Sean O'Reilly, also 26, of Pluckley Road, Ashford. He denied the same perverting justice offence.

Both men will not stand trial however until February next year - a delay which Judge Simon James described as "depressing" and a reflection of the current state of the criminal justice system

"We don't have enough judges, we have more work than we are able to cope with and we have to prioritise trials of those in custody," he explained.

O'Donnell and O'Reilly were released on bail until a pre-trial review hearing on August 30.

No details were given in court as to the nature of the injuries suffered by 29-year-old Mr King.