A man who drove into a cyclist while sleep-deprived which resulted in the cyclist breaking almost every bone in his body was jailed for nine months today.

A man who drove into a cyclist while sleep-deprived which resulted in the cyclist breaking almost every bone in his body was jailed for nine months today.

Matthew Howes, 34, of Longwater Lane, Costessey, runs the company which provides the winter ice-rink in front of the Forum in Norwich. He used to play badminton for Norfolk and the East of England and acts as a badminton coach for pupils at Gresham Schoolin Holt.

He admitted driving dangerously on December 16 on the A47 near Yarmouth, and was banned from driving for two years as well as being jailed for nine months.

Jonathan Seely, prosecuting, said Howes had only snatched catnaps while driving his 7½-ton lorry almost continuously during the previous 48 hours. He ran into the back of Ravin Hurhangee, who was wearing high-visibility clothing while cycling home from work at 6.20am in the dark. The cyclist ended up in a ditch with almost every bone in his body broken. He was in intensive care for five weeks and in hospital for two months. He still uses a wheelchair and has regular physio-therapy and painkilling drugs.

Judge Peter Jacobs told Howes: “Every year the judges sitting in Norwich Crown Court get seven or eight of these cases where normal hardworking people with impeccable records and of impeccable character commit serious motoring offences, often with terrible consequences. Judges must reflect the consequences of the action by the sentence passed.”