A MAN has been handed a suspended jail sentence and been banned from the roads for three years after a crash which left him in a critical condition.

Brian King was driving a Volkswagen Golf which he crashed at the junction of Severalls Lane and Newcomen Way, Colchester, in March.

The 34-year-old was taken to hospital in what police described at the time a critical condition.

King had been chased by police as officers had reason to believe the Golf had been stolen but lost sight of the car before the smash.

An investigation into the circumstances of the incident was launched by the Indepedent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) but they found no officers had a case to answer.

King, of Chinook, Colchester, suffered life-changing injuries in the crash.

During a hearing at Colchester Magistrates' Court, he admitted drink driving after being found nearly three times the legal limit, driving without a licence nor insurance and driving a vehicle knowing it had been taken unlawfully.

King did not steal the car himself.

Magistrates handed him a three month jail sentence suspended for 18 months as well as the driving ban.

They said the prison sentence was because of his long history of vehicle offences but decided to suspend it due to the injuries he suffered in the crash.

King must also pay a fine of £500, a £115 victim surcharge and £85 costs.

The crash happened at 11.20pm on the night before the Colchester Half Marathon and there were fears the event would have to be cancelled with runners having to make their way down Wyncolls Road, close to the scene, on their way back to the JobServe Community Stadium.

But organiser Liam Austin spoke to police and they allowed the event to go on as planned.

At the time Mr Austin said the event "nearly had to be called off."