A CYCLIST who was left paralysed after being hit by a car exactly four years ago has been told he will receive a multi-million pound compensation settlement.

Graham Gregory suffered serious spinal injuries in the accident on July 9, 2005, which left him unable to care for himself.

The 48-year-old tetraplegic, of Hill Side Way, Blunsdon, was yesterday told at a High Court hearing in London that he will receive substantial compensation for the injuries which ruined his life.

Outside court, lawyers estimated he could receive a pay-out in the region of £4m to help pay for round-the-clock care.

Mr Gregory was cycling home from a friend’s house when he was struck by a car from behind on Tewkesbury Way, West Swindon.

Barrister Gerard McDermott QC said of his client yesterday: “He was almost as badly injured as it is possible to imagine.”

After receiving initial treatment at the Great Western Hospital, Mr Gregory was later moved to the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, near Aylesbury, where he spent 32 days in intensive care.

He stayed at Stoke Mandeville for two years before he was transferred to Salisbury Hospital’s spinal unit, where he remained until February last year.

Mr Gregory, who was a huge speedway fan, had been fit and active before the accident and had a range of jobs.

His previous employment had seen him work as a kitchen hand and also help to put up and dismantle fairground rides.

Since the accident he has been confined to living in a bungalow specially adapted to his needs and is now reliant on his family.

Mr Gregory sued the driver of the car that hit him, but the defence of the case was taken over by the Motor Insurers Bureau, the industry body which is responsible for compensating victims of drivers who are either uninsured, or under-insured.

But yesterday, after last minute negotiations outside court, Mr McDermott told Judge John Leighton-Williams QC that the MIB had agreed to compensate Mr Gregory on the basis of 90 per cent liability.

Judge Leighton-Williams said he was delighted, particularly for Mr Gregory’s sake to approve the settlement of the liability issue.

He said the compromise was entirely appropriate and justified and would give Mr Gregory financial security for the future.