A HAMPSHIRE ambulance driver today pleaded not guilty to a charge of dangerous driving after a crash which left an 18-year-old woman with "life-changing" injuries.

Andrew Collis, 43, was responding to a 999 call when the ambulance he was driving hit a Renault Clio on the A32 at Mislingford, between Wickham and Droxford, on February 9 this year.

The ambulance then left the road and hit an electricity post.

Fareham Magistrates' Court heard that the driver of the car, from Swanmore, was in a coma for a month after the accident and remains in a specialist unit at a hospital in Bath.

Collis and his technician passenger suffered minor injuries. No other vehicles were involved in the accident.

Collis, of East Preston, West Sussex, pleaded not guilty to one charge of dangerous driving and the case was adjourned for a pre-trial review at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court on July 30. He was released on unconditional bail.