Disabled driver seriously hurt in car record bid

A disabled man broke both arms and a leg when he crashed an adapted racing car while trying to reach speeds of more than 200mph. David Edwards, a former racing driver in his late forties, crashed the Lola T222 car on a test track in Wethersfield, Essex, on Wednesday.

Paramedics said Mr Edwards was freed by firefighters before being airlifted to hospital. He had been attempting to set a number of UK speed records to publicise the work of Aspire – a charity which works with spinal-injury victims.

Aspire said Mr Edwards, who comes from London, was in a stable condition at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, and "recovering well". An Aspire spokeswoman said he was a wheelchair user who lost the use of his legs due to spinal injury in a road crash 15 years ago. The racing car had been adapted so that Mr Edwards could operate all controls with his hands.