ROAD accident victim Lisa Straker, of Calne, has spoken of her fight to regain her health after a horrific crash caused by Swindon man Matthew Jones.

Jones was jailed for four months on Monday after pleading guilty to dangerous driving.

Mrs Straker was driving her red Rover when it was struck head-on by a car driven by Jones on the evening of December 6, at Avebury.

Mother-of-two Mrs Straker, 36, and her dental nurse colleague Rachel Clifford, 28, who also lives in Calne, were both seriously injured.

Mrs Straker, who is the business manager for the NHS Dental Access Centres in Wiltshire, suffered a broken and dislocated foot and ankle, a broken wrist, a fractured eye socket and severe cuts and bruising.

The court heard she was in hospital for six nights and was unable to return to work for a further 13 weeks.

Mrs Straker said: "The accident has taken the control I had over my life away. The injury to my foot means I cannot walk any great distance or play with the kids or run or ski."

Mrs Straker does not drive at night as it reminds her of the accident. She and her husband, Kev an aircraft engine technician at RAF Lyneham, returned from a recent shopping trip in the dark and Mrs Straker said it left her a "gibbering wreck."

Jones, of Rose Street, Even Swindon, had been driving through the ancient stone circle of Avebury when his excessive speed caused him to veer over to the wrong side of the road, directly into the path of the approaching car.

Jones sobbed and hugged his girlfriend before being lead away by the police to begin his sentence after the case was heard by Andover Magistrates on Monday.

Jones and his passenger both suffered head injuries, and Jones still has no memory of either the accident, or the drive leading up to it.

Colin Meake, prosecuting, said: "People who know the road through Avebury will know that the road has some extremely sharp bends, and that is why the speed limit through the village is 30 miles per hour.

"Because of Mr Jones' memory loss, we will probably never know exactly what happened on that night, and are left dealing with the aftermath.

The aftermath is that Mrs Slater suffered a fractured and dislocated foot and ankle, a fractured eye socket, a broken wrist and severe cuts and bruising along the seat belt line.

"Her passenger sustained a broken left arm and a fractured sternum and wrist.

Both women were hospitalised for a week as a result of their injuries."

Malcolm Wieck, for Jones, told Andover Magistrate Court that his client was of previous good character and was horrified by what he had done, pleading guilty at the first opportunity.

Jones was given 16 weeks in prison for dangerous driving, and was banned from driving for two years. He plans to appeal. His father Michael Jones, of Rose Street, Swindon, said: "He is not a criminal and he doesn't belong in jail, and that is why we will be appealing to get him out. He made a mistake, and the magistrate obviously felt he had to be punished for that."