A joyrider whose blood-caked face was featured in the Oxford Mail as a warning to others after an almost fatal crash is likely to be sentenced to community punishment.

Tony Smith, 19, of Deer Walk, Greater Leys, had 130 stitches, almost lost the sight in one eye, and will suffer headaches for the rest of his life, Oxford Magistrates Court heard yesterday.

Smith pleaded guilty to riding in a motor vehicle taken without consent at yesterday's hearing. He had previously denied the offence.

After the smash, in December last year, Smith allowed the Oxford Mail to print horrific pictures of his injuries, which were taken just hours after he got into the stolen Vauxhall Cavalier.

Smith suffered a severed artery above the temple and a bruised skull after his head smashed through a window and into a tree.

Speaking after the trial, his mother Tracy Smith, 40, also of Deer Walk, Greater Leys, said: "He is still suffering.

"He still gets headaches and I think this has really taught him a big lesson. He is still picking glass out of his face. He has no self-confidence, does not go anywhere and doesn't do anything. He won't go in cars.

Tim Boswell, prosecuting, said Smith was drunk when he got into the Vauxhall Cavalier.

He said police were called to the smash on Grenoble Road, at the junction with Brake Hill, just after midnight on December 3 last year.

He said: "Mr Smith suffered severe facial injuries and was taken to hospital to have those injuries treated.

"He received 130 stitches and very nearly lost the sight in one eye."

Mr Boswell said Smith told police he was drunk when he got in the car after two men he didn't know offered him a lift.

He said: "The defendant stated the journey was a complete blank to him.

"The next thing he remembered was waking up in hospital. He said he didn't see who was driving."

Mr Boswell said Smith had previous convictions for being carried in cars taken without consent and for taking vehicles without consent.

Julie-Anne Comerton, defending, said: "Mr Smith's main focus that evening was to get home. He didn't think of the consequences of his actions."

She said he later admitted knowing the driver was a 15-year-old, who has never been traced. She said seven days after he was released from hospital, Smith had to return because of complications with the severed artery, which led to him losing three pints of blood.

She said: "He will suffer headaches for the rest of his life. He has learnt his lesson and he has learnt it the hard way."

Lyn Coleman, chairman of the bench, told Smith: "It was a reckless thing to do to get into that stolen car."

Mrs Coleman adjourned the case for a pre-sentence report, stating Smith will be likely to be given community punishment. Smith, who is on unconditional bail, will be sentenced on August 21.