Presenter Richard Hammond has been critically injured after a crash in a jet-powered car while filming an edition of Top Gear, the BBC said tonight.

Hammond, 36, who often drives high-performance cars as part of presenting the show, has been taken to Leeds General Infirmary which has a special neurological unit. It followed the incident at an airfield near York.

Inspector Mike Thompson, of North Yorkshire Police, said officers were dealing with the incident at the airfield north-east of York.

He said: "At 5.45pm this evening we received a report via the fire service of a male person trapped in what was described as an overturned jet car which had been driven on the airfield.

"The male occupant has received serious injuries and has been airlifted to hospital at Leeds."

A BBC spokeswoman said: "The incident happened quite recently and the focus of our attention is on Richard at this stage. We will make further details known as soon as they are available."

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

LONDON: Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond was transferred out of intensive care on Friday as doctors said he was making satisfactory progress, after suffering brain injuries in a high-speed crash.

On Friday morning, he was moved out of intensive care onto a high dependency unit, said a spokesman at Leeds General Infirmary. No details about Hammond's condition were being released at the request of his family.

The 36-year-old was badly injured on Wednesday when he crashed a jet-powered dragster as he accelerated towards 300 mph in a feature being filmed for the show. He suffered what his doctors have called a significant brain injury as a result of the accident at an RAF airfield near York.

Although doctors remain concerned about his condition, they have said they are reasonably optimistic that he will make a good recovery.

The accident is being jointly investigated by police and the Health and Safety Executive.

An HSE spokesman said on Friday its officers were focusing on the events that led-up to the incident, the planning for the dragster dash, the risk assessment undertaken and whether Hammond received any special training with jet-powered cars.

"We will look at the film footage, but at the moment we are concentrating on what activity took place prior to the accident," the spokesman said.

Police have taken the Vampire jet-car away for forensic examination and have been looking at the state of the track.

Media reports have said a burst tyre may have caused the crash. The BBC in a statement said it was co-operating with the investigations.

It could face possible prosecution if the HSE finds proper safety precautions were not taken.

Hammond had been filming at the Elvington airfield in what media reports said was an attempt to break the British land speed record of 300.3 mph, when the accident happened.

But a spokesman for the car's sponsor, auto accessory maker Thule, has said that although timers were in place to record Hammond's speed, it would not have qualified as an official record attempt.

Whatever the outcome of the investigations, it may be that Top Gear in its current format could be axed if criticism mounts about the show's daredevil stunts. The series, which attracts over six million viewers in Britain as well as millions more abroad, was criticised for being obsessed with acceleration by a group of MPs in 1999.

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This `car` has been described as a jet on wheels. 300mph doesn`t bear thinking about, anything over 100mph can get scary if things go slightly wrong.

Good to see that Hammond is out of the ICU at any rate.

'Very good progress' for Hammond

Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond is making "very good progress" as he recovers from a crash in a jet-powered car on an airfield near York.

A spokesman said if Mr Hammond continued to do well he would eventually be transferred to a hospital closer to his home outside Cheltenham.

He has also received "hundreds" of cards and flowers, which have been placed in a separate room.

Donations to the air ambulance which flew him to hospital stand at £188,000.

The appeal to raise funds for Yorkshire Air Ambulance, which was initially called for by Mr Hammond's family, has even seen £50,000 made by a single donor.

A group of motoring enthusiasts has set up a web page for contributions on behalf of Mr Hammond, whose nickname is "Hamster".

Mr Hammond, 36, is receiving treatment for a brain injury on a general ward at Leeds General Infirmary following his crash during filming for the BBC show.

Among those who have donated is comedian Freddie Starr, whose agent said he gave an undisclosed sum to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance "for his own personal reasons".

The 62-year-old told the Sun newspaper: "I have a helicopter's pilot licence so it is something I feel very strongly about.

"These guys and girls do an amazing job and it costs a lot of money. Hopefully, my donation can help people in real danger like Richard."

All the money raised so far has "brought forward" plans to buy a new, second helicopter, Yorkshire Air Ambulance charity chief executive Martin Eede said.

"In over 25 years in the voluntary sector I have never known anything like this - we are completely overwhelmed, grateful, thankful," he told BBC News.

The BBC has said it has started an investigation into the accident, which happened at Elvington airfield while Mr Hammond was driving at speeds of up to 300mph.

It also confirmed the final part of the Best of Top Gear had been postponed indefinitely and the new series, due to begin on 8 October, would be delayed.

Mrs Hammond said the family had been overwhelmed by the flowers and messages of support received from well-wishers.

But she added: "However, Richard is now beginning to worry that [co-presenters] Jeremy [Clarkson] and James [May] will start taking the Mickey, so it would be great if - instead of flowers - people could make a donation to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

"The service is entirely funded by charitable donations and there is little doubt in my mind that without it, Richard would not be making the excellent progress he is."

Mr Hammond had been driving a jet-powered dragster similar to the Vampire used by Colin Fallows to set the British land speed record of 300.3 mph.

Mr Hammond, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, had to be cut free after the car "veered off to the right" and its parachutes opened during the drive.

Primetime Land Speed Engineering, which supplied the car and a support team for the event, said the vehicle "had been prepared and was being operated to the highest of standards".

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