A car salesman from Harrogate has been jailed for running over and seriously injuring a 58-year-old man in his BMW.

Alexander Melville, 42 - an award-winning salesman of prestige cars who was banned from driving at the time - was said to be lighting a cigarette just before the BMW veered onto the pavement and struck pedestrian Richard Selby.

As Mr Selby lay  on the footpath beside Knaresborough Road, Harrogate, Melville “casually” collected his belongings from the car and walked off, York Crown Court heard.

Witnesses called 999 and Mr Selby was taken to hospital where he underwent a series of operations, including surgery to have pins inserted into his broken leg.

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Melville – formerly Audi’s leading UK car salesman for the JCT600 model - later handed himself in at Harrogate Police Station after seeing police social media appeals for information.

The collision occurred at about 8.45am on January 26, just after Melville had been to a garage to inflate the tyres on the “training” vehicle, which was unregistered and uninsured.

“A witness said he heard a loud noise of an engine revving,” said prosecutor Mohammed Khan.

“A car then accelerated up the hill…and swerved slightly left. Seconds later, he heard a loud bang and…saw debris and dust and the vehicle go backwards. He noticed (someone) laid on the pavement.”

The witness saw a man reaching into the BMW to “get some items out and then walk towards Knaresborough Road and off onto Rydal Road”.

Still needs crutches

Mr Selby’s injuries included a double fracture of the leg, a dislocated shoulder and a fracture of the shinbone at the knee joint. Eight months on from the accident, he still can’t walk unaided or without the help of crutches, and now relies on home carers.

Melville, of Roseville Drive, Harrogate, told police he had had the BMW for about a year but that it wasn’t insured and “wasn’t registered to anyone as it was used as a training vehicle”.

The salesman had been disqualified from driving last year by magistrates in Lincolnshire.

He appeared for sentence on Tuesday after pleading guilty to causing serious injury by careless driving, driving while disqualified, having no insurance, failing to stop after a road crash and failing to report an accident.

"Lit a cigarette"

Richard Reed, acting for Melville, said his client had lost his job at Audi following his disqualification. He had previously been the “best-performing salesman” for the Sytner motor group, the UK’s leading retailer of prestige cars.

After losing his licence, Melville fell on hard times financially because his work required being able to drive.

As a result, “he lost his fiancée, the marriage was cancelled, he had no income and (was) left with a house with a (big) mortgage,” added Mr Reed.

He fell further into debt after taking out a loan and credit cards and ended up on benefits.

Just before the accident, he had “lit a cigarette in the car (and) noticed he had slightly veered over the other lane”.

“He corrected it and then the car went into a spin,” said Mr Reed.

Judge Sean Morris told Melville: “Richard Selby was (simply) walking along the Harrogate road.

“You are very lucky he survived – that man could have been dead or could have been paraplegic."

Jailing Melville for five months, the judge told him: “When people are mangled by disqualified drivers, (the drivers) must expect to go to prison immediately, although you are ordinarily a decent man.”

Melville was also given a two-year driving ban.