A MAN who suffered serious head injuries in a car crash has won more than £1m in compensation following a five-year legal battle.

David Sutton, 25, from Wallingford, was airlifted to hospital in January 2006 after the Nissan in which he was a passenger collided with a BMW on the B4009 between Wallingford and Goring.

Since the accident, Mr Sutton has experienced problems with memory and depression and is at risk of suffering blackouts and epileptic fits.

Yesterday, High Court judge Mrs Justice Nicola Davies approved a £1.1m settlement offered by the insurers of the car he was travelling in.

Mr Sutton’s lawyers told the court the former supermarket worker lost his job shortly after the accident and had found it difficult getting new employment.

They said his personality changed and he lost self-esteem and willpower after the crash.

But he had recently been living with his mother, Suzanne, and had started rebuilding his life.

The payout will be needed to provide future care and support for Mr Sutton, and Mrs Justice Davies said: “I am left in no doubt that this is an appropriate settlement.

“I would like, because I have read the statement of the claimant’s mother, to say she has clearly done a wonderful job. It must have been hard for those who know and love him because they would have seen the effects of what happened.

"These monies are not going to restore everything, but I hope that they will give those who love and care for David the means to do something which helps in the future.”