Racing driver given driving ban

A racing car driver who badly injured a man after his 4x4 crashed into an oncoming vehicle has been banned from driving for 15 months and fined £500.

Alastair Jackson, 19 , hit Raymond Thompson's car after losing control of his vehicle on the Ballyrobert Road, near Ballyclare.

Mr Thompson suffered a number of injuries including a broken leg, pelvis and elbow. He also fractured his spine.

Jackson, of Ballynure Rd, Newtownabbey, pleaded guilty to careless driving.

A prosecution lawyer told Belfast Crown Court Mr Thompson had been left "effectively permanently disabled" as a result of the accident.

She said his passenger, Walter Hamilton, also suffered injuries in the crash including a broken collar bone and sternum as well as considerable bruising to his stomach.

The accident took place on 26 September 2006.

Jackson had returned to Northern Ireland after a race in Indonesia and had borrowed his sister's Land Rover.

He had only passed his driving test three months before the accident.

Jackson has been a racing driver since he was 14, first in go-karts and now in Formula Three. He competes in races throughout Europe.

Handing down the disqualification and fine the judge told Jackson that young drivers had to be careful when driving large, powerful cars, a responsibility that "is all too frequently treated in a cavalier fashion".