A £1,000 reward has been offered to help track down the callous driver who left a 53-year-old man for dead in a hit and run.

The family of the victim, named locally as Andy Payne, has pleaded for whoever smashed into him and sent him somersaulting through the air in Brighton to be brought to justice.

Although Sussex Police had not been in touch with Crimestoppers, The Argus contacted the charity and it agreed to offer a reward in a bid to get the community to pull together and identify the driver involved.

The horror happened at the junction of St George’s Street and Montague Place in Kemp Town. A stolen Fiat 500 mowed down the victim and sent him flying through the air.

Mr Payne’s son Sam Payne shared dramatic film footage of the crash on Facebook in the hope that anyone who knew who was involved would come forward.

He said: “Can everyone please share this video so we can catch whoever has done this to our poor dad. I felt sick watching this. I’m so thankful we still have him with us.”

Sergeant Dan Pitcher of Sussex Police said no stone was being left unturned and that someone watching the video must know who was driving the car.

Kay Kennedy, senior sales negotiator at Mishon Mackay in Bristol Road, Brighton, was first to attend to the victim along with her branch manager Tina Templeman.

They covered the man in coats to keep him warm while reassuring him.

Ben Vasey from Fox and Sons in Bristol Road attempted to calm a woman who was shaking after witnessing the hit and run.

He said: “She was cowering with her hands over her mouth just shaking.

“I’ve never seen anything like that before, there was lots of blood. Whatever can be done needs to be done to catch whoever did it. It was mental, completely insane.”

It is hoped footage of the crash being shown on The Argus website will encourage anybody with information to come forward. Sgt Pitcher said: “It was a very difficult decision to make [to publish the video] but it’s a decision I’m happy with.

“I wanted it to be impactful, I wanted it to be shocking, I wanted to tell people – look at this, it’s horrendous.

“It was important to get the victim’s blessing too because he has suffered serious head injuries but he’s going to make a recovery, which is astonishing considering how hard he was hit and how far he travelled.

“We’ve had a huge amount of media interest and lots and lots of leads.”

The incident happened on Thursday, January 14, at 3.40pm. The Fiat was found that night in Madehurst Close, half a mile away.

Last night a man and a woman, both from Brighton, were arrested.

The 31-year-old man was arrested after trying to hide on a roof in Donald Hall Road, Brighton.

The man was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving causing serious injury, attempting to pervert the course of justice and aggravated vehicle taking.

The 56-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

A Crimestoppers spokesman said: “This video is obviously incredibly disturbing and the driver of the vehicle must be held accountable.

"If anyone has information on who is responsible, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 and could be entitled to a reward of up to £1,000 if it leads to an arrest and charge.”