A man from Forest Gate has been jailed for 14 months after a high speed crash that left his young female passenger fighting for her life.

Mohammed Akhtar, of Horace Road, was sentenced by Judge George Morris at Harrow Crown Court after pleading guilty to dangerous driving.

He was also banned from driving for one year and will have to re-sit a driving test before being allowed behind the wheel again.

The court heard the smash happened in the evening of October 13 last year.

Akhtar, 23, lost control of his Honda Civic Type R on Watford Road, Wembley and collided with a telephone box seriously injuring a woman who was also in his car.

Through CCTV, officers were able to prove that the driver was involved in a race with another unknown car for at least half a mile prior to the collision, and had just completed an overtaking manoeuvre.

Forensic analysis of the CCTV also showed a minium speed of 64 mph going through the shopping area of Sudbury Town, and a minimum speed of 65mph 300 metres before the crash.

Collision reconstruction from marks at the scene showed a speed of 59-63 mph as he lost control.

His 22-year-old passenger suffered serious brain, pelvic and other injuries in the crash and although she made a partial recovery still suffers both physically and psychologically.

Speaking after his sentencing on December 23, Det Sgt Chris Osborne, from the unit which investigated the case, said:

“This is a sad case whereby a young lady suffered appalling injuries at the hands of a boy racer.

“Fortunately a rigorous investigation ensured that we were able to recover vital CCTV that was able to prove the danger of Mr Akhtar’s driving that led to the collision.

“Hopefully this will serve as a warning to others that driving at double the speed limit could well end up in a prison sentence.”