Fifth Gear star Tom Ford hurt in crash

27 September 2007

by Vijay Pattni

Fifth Gear star Tom Ford is recovering in hospital after a car smash while filming for the Channel 5 show.

Ford was recording a piece about drifting � driving a car sideways � when the modified Bedford Rascal van he was driving toppled onto its two side wheels and crashed into a safety barrier.

This is the third crash involving a TV motoring star in a year.

Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond was left seriously ill when he crashed a rocket-powered car at 288mph on September 20 last year.

And only two weeks ago the pint-sized star was shunted off the Silverstone racetrack in a £100,000 BMW 330DTi.

Tom broke three of his toes and will undergo an operation to pin them back together at a hospital in Watford, Herts.

He and co-host Smith were racing each other around a private track when Ford�s van, painted in the colours of popular 80�s TV show The A-Team, gripped the track, rose up on two wheels and crashed into the side barrier.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Tom said: �We�d had a great day filming � I�d just won the contest, and on my victory lap decided to show off one last time, a bit too much.�

�I heard bones breaking and thought it was my legs.

�The paramedics got to me within seconds, helped me out of the car and diagnosed I�d broken my right foot and all the toes. I got away lightly.�

�I heard bones breaking and thought it was my legs�

Tom was wearing a fireproof race suit, body armour, spinal protector and crash helmet, and was harnessed in to the van which had been fitted with a roll cage.

�Thank goodness I had all my safety kit on,� said Tom. �I�ve got to have an operation to pin my toes back in to place � it�s quite painful but my two-year old son Elijah has called to say he�s going to kiss Daddy�s foot better and that cheered me up no end.�

Ford vowed to drive a car that offered more protection in the future.

He said: �Old bangers seem appealing because they�re cheap,� said Tom. �But I�m sticking to the stuff with crumple zones.�

Tom is expected to fully recover from his injuries in six weeks.

Fifth Gear is on Channel 5 on Mondays at 8pm. The episode will be aired in January next year.