Party for Top Gear crash medics

Hammond suffered brain injuries and was airlifted to hospital

Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond has invited the doctors, nurses and air ambulance staff who saved his life after a near-300mph crash to a party.

The 37-year-old is holding a book signing event in Covent Garden, London, and invited the staff to thank them.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance staff and medics from Leeds General Infirmary will be at Thursday night's gathering.

Hammond suffered brain injuries in a crash during filming at Elvington airfield near York in September 2006.

Elaine Andrews, the matron responsible for neurosciences at Leeds General Infirmary, is among those going to the event at the Hospital Club in Covent Garden.

"Richard's accident and the huge level of interest it prompted in the care we provided for him at Leeds General Infirmary is something all the staff involved here remember very well indeed," she said.

Richard Hammond was driving a jet-powered dragster

"It will be interesting to meet him again and see him fully recovered. We are hoping to maintain a link between Richard and the hospital in the months and years to come."

Yorkshire Air Ambulance also confirmed some of their staff would be attending the party which comes 14 months after Hammond suffered a "significant brain injury" in the 288mph dragster crash.

Hammond, nicknamed the Hamster by Top Gear colleagues James May and Jeremy Clarkson, was filming for the BBC2 show at Elvington airfield, near York, when the accident happened.

His 370mph jet-powered Vampire dragster veered off the runway, flipped over several times and crashed on to grass.

He had to be airlifted to Leeds General Infirmary where he stayed for five weeks.

After the crash Top Gear fans donated thousands of pounds to help fund a new helicopter for Yorkshire's Air Ambulance service.