A driver who left the scene of a fatal crash which claimed the lives of three teenage girls has told a jury he now felt disgusted by his actions.

Adam Anguige, 25, said he and his girlfriend were panicking and in a state of shock after seeing the Ford Fiesta containing Heckmondwike 16-year-old Ursula Alokolaro and her two friends smash into the front of a lorry.

Anguige, who has denied racing with the Fiesta in his Vauxhall Nova, described the fatal collision as "absolutely horrible" and told Bradford Crown Court that he couldn't cope with what he had seen.

"I'd never seen anything that horrific before in my life," he said of the crash in September, 2006.

Giving evidence, Anguige said his girlfriend, Nicola Eyles, was shaking and told him to "get out of here" after they witnessed the impact.

Anguige admitted driving up a dead-end road on to an industrial estate, but he then returned to the main road where he arranged for a friend to take Miss Eyles away before he went to speak to police.

When asked by his barrister Peter Joyce QC how he felt about leaving the scene initially Anguige replied: "Disgusted by my actions. I wish I had stayed and hadn't been a coward and helped."

Anguige, of White Leaf Road, Batley, has denied causing the deaths of Miss Alokolaro, 16-year-old Natalie Donlan and 15-year-old Gemma Cost, by dangerous driving.

The prosecution has alleged that Anguige was involved in competitive driving with the Fiesta driver, 27-year-old James Houston, shortly before the crash on Wakefield Road, Huddersfield.

Houston, of Croft Cottage Lane, Huddersfield, was badly injured in the collision and another jury has already decided that his dangerous driving caused the deaths of the three girls.

Anguige told the court that he had been out driving that night with another friend who was giving his Vauxhall Tigra a test drive.

Anguige described how he became aware of a car flashing its lights behind him and both he and the Tigra driver pulled over.

He claimed that as the Fiesta drove by one of the passengers threw an object at his Nova and he drove off after it in order to find out why they had done that.

After overtaking the Fiesta at about 45mph, Anguige said his vehicle was then rammed from behind.

He alleged that the Fiesta then deliberately drove into the side of his Nova at least three times.

"I was panicking. I was scared," said Anguige.

"How were you driving?" asked Mr Joyce.

"I tried to position my car as far right in my own lane as possible in a bid to avoid being rammed off the road," said Anguige.

He said he was in deep shock and his girlfriend was horrified by what was happening.

The prosecution has alleged that at one point the Nova and the Fiesta were overtaking a Range Rover simultaneously, but Anguige said he could not remember seeing any other vehicle apart from the lorry coming the other way.

He said he had been braking and slowing down as the Fiesta went around the left-hand bend and crashed into the lorry.

Anguige admitted that he had told lies to the police during a series of interviews but he said that was only to keep other people, such as his girlfriend, out of it.

He maintained that he had been trying to tell the police the truth about the circumstances of the collision.

During cross-examinaton Anguige insisted that his driving had been normal that evening and he had no reason to hide anything.

"Why was your first instinct to leave the scene?" asked prosecutor Andrew Dallas. "Because I couldn't cope with what I was looking at," replied Anguige.

The trial continues.