A teenager who left a mother paralysed from the neck down after filming himself driving without his hands on the wheel was jailed for 26 months yesterday.

George Taylor was 17 when he used his knees to steer his car while recording himself overtaking other vehicles shortly before he ploughed into the one driven by Catherine Davies, who was stationary at a junction.

The fitness instructor, 51, suffered catastrophic brain and spinal injuries and now relies on round-the-clock care in a specially adapted property fitted with life-support equipment.

Taylor, who is now 19 and will serve his time in a young offender institution, appeared at Norwich Crown Court to be sentenced after admitting causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

The maximum jail term for the offence is five years. Judge Anthony Bate said: ‘It is remarkable that the defendant did not collide with somebody sooner.’

Ms Davies’ father Jeremy, 76, a retired civil servant, spoke afterwards to warn about the risks of failing to concentrate on the road.

“I’ll never forget that day when we were told she had been in an accident and then arriving at hospital to face the reality that we may lose her,” he said.