A police officer told a jury how he tried to avoid crashing into another car as he answered an emergency call.

PC Timothy Temple, who has denied dangerous driving, said he braked hard and tried to steer around the vehicle.

But his attempts failed and the impact sent his patrol car crashing into a lamp post.

Temple, 29, of Chichester Place, Brighton, was yesterday giving evidence on the third day of his trial at Lewes Crown Court.

The jury has heard how he was driving to Coombe Road, Brighton, where a burglar alarm had been set off at a newsagents on the evening of August 1 last year.

As he was heading north along Lewes Road, he decided to cross on to the wrong side of the road to clear a cluster of cars trying to get out of his way.

But he collided with a Renault 5 turning right into Southover Street.

After the impact, the officer's patrol car, a Peugeot 406, mounted the pavement and slammed into a wall before hitting a lamp post and demolishing it. The car was wrecked.

The driver of the Renault 5 suffered whiplash injuries. Temple and his passenger, PC Brett Grisbrook, were shaken but not hurt.

The prosecution accuses Temple of driving dangerously at speeds of up to 50mph when the limit was 30mph.

Temple, who joined the force less than three years ago, told the jury: "The Renault was stationary. It was not indicating. I assessed the vehicle to have seen me and to have stopped to allow me to go past."

As he went to pass the Renault on the opposite side of the road, PC Grisbrook warned him the vehicle was turning right.

He said: "I applied my brakes as hard as I could and attempted to steer around the Renault. There was a split second when I thought I had got round it and it was going to be all right."

The court heard Temple had passed a three-week driving course shortly before the accident. He has since taken a refresher course and continues to drive with the response unit.

The jury is expected to retire to consider its verdict on Monday.