A 24-year-old driver left a woman unable to work for six months and her father-in-law reliant on a wheelchair after losing control of his car last summer.

Joshua Payne, 24, of Kempson Drive, Great Cornard, was banned from driving for two years on Wednesday after admitting two counts of causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate driving.

The court heard the crash happened on August 2 last year when the defendant's black Peugeot 207 ended on the wrong side of the road on the bend of the A1071 to Hadleigh. 

A mother and her two children, along with her father-in-law, were travelling in a Renault Clio when they were struck by Payne.

The Great Cornard driver was travelling at around 50mph on the wet road and came round the bend out of control.

This resulted in his car doing a 360 degree turn onto the wrong side of the road.

A victim impact statement was read out from the mum-of-two in the car who said that her children’s “hysterical screaming and crying will haunt me forever”.

She said: “I was unable to stretch my arm out to comfort them. They suffered whiplash, blackeyes and bruises. They were horrendously traumatised and suffer from nightmares."

The mum-of-two was unable to work for six months, the court was told.

Her father-in-law also gave a statement and detailed his life had changed as a result of the crash.

He said: “I sit frustrated that my mind is fine, but my body is not what it was.

“This is not the way I imagined living the last years of my life."

The court heard both the man's hands are numb and he has lost sight in one eye.

His victim impact statement said: "When I leave the house, I am reliant on a wheelchair. It also means I don’t get to socialise and see friends. It has impacted on my mental health and has really caused me to miss the things I used to be able to do and enjoy.”

The court heard the defendant was “incredibly remorseful and incredibly sorry”.

Judge David Pugh gave Payne a six-month custodial sentence suspended for 18 months and banned him from driving for 24 months.