Ten injured as car ploughs into rugby league fans in Newcastle; teen of Sri Lankan descent arrested

Ten people, including three children, were injured when a car drove into a crowd of rugby league supporters in Newcastle, Australia.

The incident happened at about 9.30am on Saturday near the Transfield Avenue area of Link Road, where thousands of Newcastle Knights supporters had gathered to farewell their NRL team.

Police said the driver lost control of the vehicle and struck a number of supporters. The injured were admitted to hospital.

Indika Samarasinghe, an 18-year-old of Sri Lankan background, was arrested over the incident and faces three charges, including dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and causing injury by misconduct.

The most serious dangerous driving charge carries a potential maximum sentence of seven years in prison. Samarasinghe is due to appear in court again on October 15.