A Hampshire BT engineer left with severe head and leg injuries after a road smash with a lorry has settled his damages claim at London’s High Court for more than a million pounds.

Clive Unwin, 57, was driving to work in the early hours of February 10, 2007, near Alresford in Essex, when he collided with an articulated lorry which had emerged from a layby.

Mr Unwin, of Abbotsbury Road, Eastleigh, now uses a stick to get around and will never work again, according to his lawyers.

He sued the owners of the lorry, claiming damages for the “life-changing” injuries he suffered.

The company denied liability for the accident, but yesterday agreed to pay an undisclosed seven-figure sum to settle his claim.

Mr Unwin’s solicitor, Jenny Kennedy, said outside court: “The turning lorry was straddling both carriageways in the early hours of the morning as Mr Unwin was driving to work in his van. He didn’t see it in the dim light.

“It was a life-changing event for him and his family.

“He was a previously active man, working full-time and looking forward to a happy and healthy retirement.

“He is now permanently incapacitated, physically and mentally, as a result of the crash.

“His wife has had to give up her job to care for him, and she has been commended for that by the judge.”

Mr Justice Sweeney, approving the terms of the settlement, did not specify the amount that had been agreed.

However, Miss Kennedy said outside the court that it was “a seven-figure sum”.