Adventurer Fiennes charged over crash which left driver injured

Sir Ranulph, 66, the oldest Briton to reach the summit of Mount Everest, was left dazed and bloodied after the crash in Stockport, Greater Manchester, on March 6.

Nicholas Beckett, CPS reviewing lawyer, said: "Having carefully reviewed a file of evidence passed to me by Greater Manchester Police, I have concluded that there is sufficient evidence, and it is in the public interest, to charge Sir Ranulph Fiennes with driving without due care and attention."

Sir Ranulph will appear at Stockport Magistrates' Court later this year, a CPS spokesman added.

His Jaguar was in collision with a Nissan Micra travelling in the opposite direction on the A6, then a Ford Focus, before it mounted a pavement and came to a halt.

The male driver of the Micra suffered serious injuries including collapsed lungs, broken ribs and a broken leg. A five-year-old child who was a passenger in the same car suffered minor injuries.

The Polar explorer had competed in the 42-mile High Peak Marathon in Derbyshire the evening before the crash.

The renowned adventurer was the first man to visit both the North and South Poles by foot and the first to completely cross Antarctica by foot. Last May at the age of 65 he climbed to the top of Everest to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.