A Norwich DJ who lost his right arm in a moped crash is in line for hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation after winning a court case.
Matthew Howes, was working in the party town of Malia, Crete, in August 2011, when he swerved to avoid an overtaking car and the scooter he was riding crashed into a safety barrier.
The 28-year-old was seriously injured and his boss had to give consent for his right arm to be amputated, as his mother could not be contacted at the time.
Mr Howes, who continues to work as a DJ, made a claim against the Motor Insurer's Bureau (MIB) which compensates victims of uninsured or untraced drivers.
But the MIB fought the case, suggesting that there was no overtaking car and that the crash was caused by Mr Howes going too fast.
Following a hearing at Central London County Court, Judge Heather Baucher has now ruled in Mr Howes' favour.
She found there was another car - which was never identified or traced - and that his actions in swerving to avoid an 'inevitable' collision were 'correct'.
The judge also concluded that, although Mr Howes was travelling above the speed limit, this was not a factor which contributed to the crash.
She told the court: 'I find his driving was entirely in keeping with that of a driver in control of his scooter.
'Thus his actions were not only logical, but correct as he was facing the vehicle coming towards him.
'I accept his evidence that the vehicle never altered its course.
'I find that, in the instant he made his decision, it was because, in the absence of a swerve, a collision with the oncoming vehicle was inevitable'.
The court heard Mr Howes was travelling with a passenger on his scooter when the accident happened.
As he approached a bend in the road, the unidentified car was heading towards him on the wrong side of the road, as it attempted to overtake another car.
Mr Howes said the car showed no sign of stopping or slowing down and that he had to swerve to avoid a head-on crash.
Giving evidence, he told the court: ''I came round the corner, there was a car overtaking another car.
'I had to swerve to avoid it and I lost my arm.
'If I hadn't swerved I would have gone straight through it.'
Judge Baucher said the crash had 'devastating consequences' for Mr Howes and that, even now - five years on from the accident - he became emotional in the witness box.
The amount of compensation Mr Howes will receive has yet to be assessed, but given the serious nature of his injuries, the payout will run well into six figures.
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