The family of Sarah Harrington welcomed the decision as their daughter continues her long recovery.

Gavin Bell, 24, was jailed for 12 months and banned for three years in July 2006 for a crash which left Sarah in a coma.

But Newcastle Crown Court was told yesterday that the former bus driver had served just three months behind bars.

He was back in court yesterday to apply for his disqualification period to be reduced.

His barrister Johanna Darby said that Bell now worked at the Nissan plant in Washington and was relying on friends, colleagues and taxis to get to his shifts.

Bell, of Coston Drive, South Shields, hoped to get his licence back early, meaning he could drive himself to work, but his application was opposed by prosecutors.

Sarah is now 21 but was just 19 at the time of the crash, in January 2006.

She was in court to see Mr Recorder Neil Davey reject Bell's bid to get his licence back now.

The judge told him: "I have heard and read everything relevant from both sides and I have to say, in this circumstances, in my judgment there are no grounds for reducing that disqualification."

Sarah's dad, Richard Harrington, 56, of Fulwell, Sunderland, said: "We gave the judge a witness statement, basically saying how we felt.

"Sarah is still in a wheelchair and still needs to be looked after 24/7.

"We felt that giving this person back his licence would effectively end the whole thing for him, whereas it will never end for Sarah.

"We do not revel in this decision, but we do feel it was the right one to make."

Two years ago Bell admitted dangerous driving by carrying out an overtaking manoeuvre which caused him to lose control of his car.

As a result his Vauxhall Astra, in which Sarah and two other women were passengers, careered on to the wrong side of the road before moving back into his own lane. The vehicle then spun into the air and threw Sarah out on to the ground.

She suffered life-threatening injuries including multiple fractures, a collapsed lung and internal head injuries. She was left needing a wheelchair.

The stretch of road where the accident happened – the A183 Coast Road in South Shields – has a 40mph speed limit.

The court was told that father-of-three Bell had a past conviction for driving without due care and attention when he carried out a handbrake turn in a deserted car park and was captured by a security camera.