A man who suffered devastating injuries after being hit by a drunk joyrider outside his own home could receive millions of pounds in compensation following a High Court ruling.

Gary Dawes, 44, had numerous bones in his body broken and suffered severe brain damage when he was hit by Craig Aldis, who was 19 at the time and driving a stolen Vauxhall Cavalier being pursued by police.

Mr Dawes, of Lynchet Close in Hollingdean, Brighton, suffered terrible injuries which Mr Justice Eady heard has left him dependent on others for his dayto- day needs.

For years Lynchet Close had been a magnet for joyriders because of its steeply-sloping curve.

On February 26 2003, Aldis, now 23, was driving up and down, revving the engine and making handbrake turns.

His path had been blocked by plain clothes police officers but he went on to the pavement to avoid them and sped off at 50mph on the wrong side of the road when he struck Mr Dawes, who was catapulted over the car.

At the High Court, insurer NIG plc, which is responsible for the insurance on the stolen car Aldis was driving, admitted primary liability but argued that Mr Dawes had contributed to the accident and his damages payout should be significantly reduced.

But Mr Justice Eady dismissed arguments that "on the balance of probabilities" Mr Dawes should be held partly responsible for the accident.

Anthony Llewellyn QC, for NIG, argued Mr Dawes had been drinking heavily on the night he was hit and had stepped into the road to remonstrate with Aldis.

He said that Mr Dawes' friend Simon Martin had told police immediately after the accident that they were both keen to discourage joyriding in the area.

Mr Llewellyn said that Mr Dawes, who he said had been drinking tequila and lager with Mr Martin, was a "man's man"

who was "able to look after himself".

Mr Justice Eady said: "The relevance of this is not immediately obvious but from this pattern I believe I am being invited to infer that he would have been the sort of person to run in front of the oncoming Vauxhall in order to remonstrate with the driver."

He said that although such a foolhardy act was a possible scenario, there was not enough evidence to piece together exactly what happened.

He also rejected arguments based on comments Aldis made to police, in which he claimed that Mr Dawes had stepped out from behind a parked car, giving him no chance to react.

The judge said that Aldis was drunk at the time and, believing he had killed a policeman and was in very serious trouble, may have made self-serving statements.

Aldis stopped the car and ran off after the accident.

He later pleaded guilty to criminal offences in connection with the crash.