Top Gear back on track

Top Gear is to resume filming today two weeks after Richard Hammond's crash.

The BBC show was put on hold when Hammond suffered serious injuries while driving a jet-powered dragster.

But presenter Jeremy Clarkson is back in the driving seat this morning, test-driving a Lotus Europa at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey.

The new series of the show was due to begin this Sunday but Hammond's accident caused it to be postponed.

A BBC spokeswoman said: "We remain committed to Top Gear and there was never any question of it being axed.

"It was postponed but filming will resume today at the Top Gear track."

Hammond, 36, is said to be delighted the show is back on.

He is continuing his recovery from brain injuries sustained in the crash which nearly claimed his life.

The presenter was driving at speeds up to 300mph when the jet-powered Vampire dragster veered off the track at Elvington airfield, near York, on September 20.

The vehicle flipped over several times and crashed on the grass.

Hammond has been transferred to a hospital in Bristol and doctors predict he will be "back to his old self" within six months.

No transmission date has been set for the new series.