A once mild-mannered RAF sergeant transformed into a sex-obsessed shadow of his former self by road crash injuries has won a £1.7m compensation payout.

Robert Cornes' personality was so changed that he once threatened one of his own female carers with a knife when she rejected his advances, London's High Court heard.

Former RAF engineer Mr Cornes, 43, was walking along Corn Street, Witney, with his girlfriend on the night of July 19, 2002 when a car struck a bus shelter that collapsed on top of him.

Motorist David Southwood, of Wood Green, Witney, was later jailed after pleading guilty at Oxford Crown Court to dangerous driving and drink driving.

Mr Cornes, who has since moved back to his childhood home in Staffordshire, spent several weeks in intensive care and, although making a remarkable recovery from his physical injuries, he suffered grievous brain damage.

The court heard he will need to be looked after by a team of professionals for as long as he lives and his problems are such that his carers must all be male.