Hammond blamed for jet crash (From Stourbridge News)

Hammond blamed for jet crash

The owner of the jet car involved in a high-speed crash which nearly claimed the life of Richard Hammond appears today to lay the blame for the accident on the Top Gear presenter, it is reported.

Richard Hammond returning to Top Gear last night

Dramatic footage of the crash clearly showed the car's right front tyre shredded following a blowout as Hammond tore down an airfield runway at speeds approaching 300mph.

He appeared to lose control of the dragster, which veered off the runway on to the grass before overturning.

But Colin Fallows suggested Hammond was to some extent to blame for the crash by "failing to adhere to the briefing".

He said: "Mr Hammond had a puncture and carried on with the tyre deflated", adding that Hammond "stood on the brakes" after the blowout.

He said: "Once these cars are in motion you don't touch the brakes. You stay on the prescribed line and should always be aware of the unexpected.

Advertisement continued..."By failing to adhere to the briefing, what would have been a controllable incident ended in a major accident."

The BBC and Mr Fallows' firm, Primetime Landspeed Engineering, may be prosecuted for failing to take due care, the paper said.

Last night dramatic footage of the 288mph crash was shown for the first time.

Aired on Top Gear's first show of the new series, it revealed the 36-year-old's miraculous escape when he crashed while filming a stunt for the programme in September.

Hammond suffered brain injuries in the crash at Elvington airfield in York as he attempted to break the British land speed record.

Hammond, who has no memory of the crash, watched alongside co-presenters Jeremy Clarkson and James May.

He said experts who analysed footage of the crash said he had displayed the reactions of a fighter pilot.

Asked by Clarkson why he had attempted a final run in the car after having already reached speeds of 314mph - the fastest anyone has ever travelled on land in Britain - Hammond said: "I dunno. That run we just watched was at about 5 o'clock and we had the runway until 5.30pm.

"I suppose it's like when you were playing outside as a kid and then your mum called you in for dinner. You'd always stay out for a bit longer..."

"And that's when you'd fall out the tree," Clarkson remarked.

"As it happens, yes," Hammond said.

The slow-motion footage showed the Vampire jet-powered car upside down sliding over rough land at the side of the runway still travelling at 230mph.

It was the first time the father of two had appeared on the show since the crash.

He re-entered the studio down a flight of steps flanked by lines of showgirls and declared himself to be "fixed".

"I am fixed. I am completely fixed and normal," he said.

Assuring viewers he had not suffered long-term brain damage, he joked: "The only difference between me now and before the crash is I like celery now."

The new series of the show will feature 35 daredevil stunts including the launch of a home-made space shuttle.