A motorcyclist was seriously injured after racing his brother on a twisting Herefordshire road, Worcester Crown Court heard.

Darren Faulkner overtook on a bend near Bromyard and collided head-on with a car travelling in the opposite direction.

He careered off the road into a field and broke his knee, thigh and a rib.

Faulkner, aged 24, and his 21-year-old brother Lee had been speeding at an estimated 80mph, causing traffic to move to its nearside, said Adam Western, prosecuting.

At one stage, a witness saw one brother hanging from his 400cc machine and then drive on to the wrong side of the road.

The brothers admitted dangerous driving on the A44 Bromyard to Worcester road on Sunday, July 1. last year.

"An aggravating feature is that they were racing. They drove in lunatic fashion with complete disregard for the double lines," said Judge John Cavell.

But he said he could avoid jail by "a whisker" because they had no previous convictions and had pleaded guilty.

He sentenced each of them to 150 hours' community work with £122 costs. They were banned from driving for two years.

Thirteen members of a motorcycle club, travelling towards the brothers, were horrified by their driving, the court heard.

Andrew Wayland, a serving policeman with the club, estimated their speed at 80mph. He believed the brothers, of Wychall Lane, King's Norton, were racing each other.

Darren Faulkner smashed into a Chrysler Cruiser, being driven towards Bromyard by Andrew Young. He saw the bike overtaking a Land Rover on the wrong side of the road before the impact.

Defence counsel Michael Conry said the elder brother would never be able to ride a motorcycle again because of his injury.

He was formerly a motorcycle courier who rode 60,000 miles a year in his job.

Miss Lucy Allen, for the younger brother, said the driving was out of character. He was some distance behind his brother when he crashed.