A MAN driving at around 76mph on a 30mph stretch of road in a sporty car he was test driving has been jailed for two months after it crashed, leaving his cousin in a wheelchair for life.

Victim Wasim Sarwar, 18, was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown through the back windscreen of the Toyota Corolla GTi in the smash.

Burnley Crown Court heard Kamran Ali, 20, a former security officer at Heathrow Airport, had clocked up an estimated 76mph on the 30mph road, crossed the carriageway, mounted the kerb and hit some bushes.

He was not insured after taking the car for a test drive from a private sale, but Mr Sarwar will be compensated for the "freak accident" which the defendant's barrister told the court had ruined the 18-year-old's life. Mr Sarwar, Ali's father's cousin, is now in a wheelchair and may never walk again.

But his parents believe what happened was not intentional but an "appalling piece of bad luck," the court was told.

Ali's father told the court the crash had devastated the family but his cousin, who was being treated at Stoke Mandeville hospital, did not blame the defendant.

Judge Raymond Bennett said he had never before come across a case where a passenger had gone through the rear screen of a vehicle.

He said the message had to go out that if young men went too fast and took a risk, there would be serious consequences.

He said: "Many young men take the risk that you were taking, sadly in your case the risk materialised."

Ali, of Carr Road, Nelson, admitted dangerous driving and driving with no insurance and was also banned for 18 months. He had no previous convictions.

John Oultram, prosecuting, said when police arrived at the accident in Carr Road on the approach to the bypass, Mr Sarwar was on the grass being treated by paramedics.

Officers investigated and found Ali would have been travelling between 68 and 84 mph, probably at an estimated 76mph.

The defendant claimed a cat had run into the road and he had braked to avoid it. He told police he could not believe he had been going at the speed calculated.

Robert Crawford, defending, said Ali was hard-working and thoroughly decent but had never driven a car of such performance before.

He was inexperienced and driving too quickly in a car he was unfamiliar with. He thought he had been doing 60mph.

Mr Crawford said " The defendant had been racked with worry and remorse after the crash and he had seriously injured somebody he knew and loved considerably."

The family had closed ranks, there had been no fall out or grudges held and Mr Sarwar's parents took the view it was an accident and not intentional.

The barrister added it was unlikely Mr Sarwar would walk again but the family were coming to terms with it and were pulling together.

Mr Crawford urged the court not to send Ali to custody and added: "One life has been ruined.

"What on earth is to be gained by ruining a second life?"