A MAN lying seriously injured in his car after a head-on collision recorded a message to his family, fearing he would die.

Nick Copson was left paralysed and subsequently had both legs amputated after the crash on the A68, in September 2018.

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On the day the accident driver, Craig Allen, 46, of Stanhope, was jailed for 38 months at Durham Crown Court for causing serious injury by dangerous driving, Mr Copson said he thought he was going to die in the wreckage of his vehicle, so recorded a goodbye message on his mobile phone to his wife Nikki, 52, and son Connor, 21, telling them he was sorry and he loved them.

Emergency services rescued Mr Copson, from Woodland, County Durham, who was airlifted to hospital by the Great North Air Ambulance, and survived the horrific accident against all the odds.

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The 47-year-old chef said: “The spinal injury in a way was a blessing, as it meant I couldn’t feel any pain below my chest.

“However, I started to struggle with breathing and that’s when I thought I was dying.

“Someone from another car came and sat with me and I asked her to pass on the message to my family, but she told me to tell them myself.”