A DRIVER who careered off the road and smashed through a wall into a family’s front room has been jailed for five years.

James Andrew Sparham, 29, was driving a high-performance Volkswagen Golf R which burst into flames after smashing into the house in Rawcliffe, York.

One of the residents, a man in his 50s, suffered life-changing injuries and had to endure a long stay in hospital.

Sparham’s two passengers – a woman in her 30s and a man in his 20s – also sustained broken bones, lacerations and fractures.

The labourer, of Geldof Road, Huntington, York, was sent to prison by a judge at York Crown Court on Monday after he pleaded guilty to three counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and criminal damage.

He was also banned from driving for seven-and-a-half years and will have to sit an extended driving test before he is allowed back on the roads.

The incident took place on Morehall Close in the early hours of September 3 last year.

Emergency services crews arrived to find Sparham’s Golf ablaze in the living room.

The three occupants, including a child, in the house at the time managed to escape with help of neighbours.

Witnesses later told police they heard “screeching” and saw a while Volkswagen being driven in a “dangerous” manner immediately before the crash.

North Yorkshire Police’s Major Collision Investigation Team launched an investigation and carried out extensive forensic tests to determine what had happened.

Experts were unable to find any evidence that Sparham had tried to avoid a collision or any defects with the vehicle.

They also recreated the incident in a controlled environment, using a similar car, and determined that even with the steering at full lock, the car should not have lost control.

During police interviews, Sparham largely made no comment. However, he pleaded guilty to three counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and criminal damage at court.

After the hearing, Detective Sergeant Jeremy Bartley of the Major Collision Investigation Team, who led the investigation, said: “The choices Sparham made that night have had a catastrophic impact on innocent people.

“The damage he did was not just to a family’s home, but also to their health and their wellbeing – damage which continues to this day. Lives have been changed forever.

“The sad thing is, our investigation has shown that this incident was absolutely avoidable. It didn’t have to happen. It was an act of stupidity that had dire consequences.

“The advanced techniques we used to investigate cases such as this allow us to piece together an incredibly detailed picture of what happened, and why it happened. So even without the driver’s full co-operation, we’re able to build a case that is strong enough to convict people of serious driving offences.

“This was a long and complex investigation, so I’m relieved that Sparham is not only off our roads, but also has plenty of time to reflect on his actions while serving his custodial sentence.”

“I would like to thank the local and wider community for answering our witness appeals and providing a valuable picture of the events leading up to the incident.”