THREE police officers lied about a car crash, which saw a marked car run a red light and smash into the side of a teenager's vehicle, a court has heard.

PCs Max Michel, 28, and Shaun Charnock, 34, were responding to an emergency call when they drove into the driver's side of a car at a junction in west London.

Michel had driven the police vehicle along the Uxbridge Road in Feltham and through a red traffic light with Charnock in the passenger seat, prosecutor Daniel Higgins said.

He told the jury on the first day of the officers' trial that PCs Michel and Charnock had "put their heads together" to blame Mr Mehra for the collision, and were supported in this effort by PC Ryan Francis, 27, of Hampton Crescent, Bracknell, who attended the scene to report the crash.

Raj Mehra, who was 19 at the time and on his way from his home in Hounslow to his friend's restaurant in Hampton, had to be cut out of his VW Golf after the accident at around midday on December 4, 2016, Southwark Crown Court heard.

He said he was left feeling "dizzy and heavy" by the crash, which saw his airbags "explode" and "sparks coming out".

Mr Higgins said: "The crown's case is that whether it was through panic regarding as to what the consequences might be if Mr Michel was responsible for the collision or otherwise, PCs Michel and Charnock decided to blame Mr Mehra for the collision and suggested it was he rather than PC Michel that drove through a red light."

Mr Mehra, who said he worked as an MOT tester at the time, was initially the one reported for suspected criminal offences, including driving without due care and attention and not having the appropriate insurance.

Mr Higgins said Francis had subsequently "supported his police colleagues" in presenting a report in relation to the accident that "contributed to Mr Mehra being wrongly blamed".

CCTV later recovered of the incident showed the police vehicle had moved forward through a red traffic light, the prosecutor said.

Giving evidence, Mr Mehra said that after the driver of the other vehicle had first inquired about how he was shortly after the crash, he became "rude" and shouted at him.

He said: "The driver came to the ambulance and he was screaming at me. He said: 'You are going to pay for all of this and I am going to make sure you get the maximum punishment for it.'"

He added: "Before this incident I always respected the police. I thought of them as a protection for me. Since this has happened, that has changed."

Charnock, from Caesars Camp Road in Camberley, Surrey; Francis and Michel, from Kingsnympton Park, Kingston-upon-Thames, each deny one count of doing acts intended to pervert the course of justice.

The trial is expected to last until the end of next week.