THE family of a man left paralysed in a crash are planning a campaign for increased sentences after the "lunatic" banned driver was jailed for just three years and four months.

Alex Everington, 29, suffered devastating injuries when an uninsured Ford Focus driven by Ian Maughan plunged off a railway bridge and down an embankment in Redcar in January.

The father-of-two cannot move from the neck down, will need lifelong medical treatment, and the round-the-clock help of his family to carry out the simplest of everyday tasks.

Maughan admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving when he appeared at Teesside Crown Court – a charge that carries a maximum prison sentence of five years.

But because the 30-year-old – who has a history of motoring crimes and had taken cannabis and a sedative before the crash – pleaded guilty, he had time knocked off his term.

Lawyers in the case and the judge agreed the devastating results of the crash could not be separated from death by dangerous driving – a charge carrying a 14-year maximum.

Mr Everington's father, Ian, who has had to give up work to spend time with his son in hospital every day, criticised the way the current laws dictate the length of sentence.

After the case, he said: "We will be campaigning to change the law because this case is as serious as if Alex had lost his life, in some ways the impact is greater because we have a lifetime ahead of us caring for my son.

"If it was a death you would always mourn your son but you would learn to somehow cope with that loss. As things stand we are dealing with the consequences of what Maughan did every single day.

"And yet he could be walking the streets in 18 months while we are left to deal with what he did, explaining to Alex's children that their dad loves them but will never be able to play with them again.

"He won't be able to walk his daughter down the aisle or do any of the things we all take for granted."

The court was told that Maughan offered a lift to Mr Everington and another man, Thomas Betteridge, who was a rear seat passenger in the hatchback.

They accepted but warned him that he was driving "like a lunatic", doing 60mph in a 30mph zone as the car approached Warrenby Bridge, where Maughan lost control.

The silver Ford careered through the wooden fence, rolled over twice and landed on its wheels, before Mr Everington was pulled out and the other two men left.

Judge Howard Crowson told Maughan, of Westbourne Grove, Redcar: "You fled the scene and I am convinced you did so to avoid responsibility if you could because at the police station you claimed not to be the driver."