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[size=18]Naseem Hamed jailed for car crash[/size]

Former world boxing champion Naseem Hamed has been jailed for dangerous driving after a crash which left another driver severely injured.

Hamed, 32, from Dore in Sheffield, was sentenced to 15 months at Sheffield Crown Court after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing.

The boxer was also banned from driving for four years.

Hamed was at the wheel of his £325,000 McLaren-Mercedes when he crashed at 90mph on Ringinglow Road, Sheffield.

Motorist Anthony Burgin spent weeks in hospital after the crash left him with fractures to "every major bone in his body".

'Anxious to impress'

The court heard how Hamed was anxious to impress businessman Asif Ayub, 46, who was a passenger in the McLaren-Mercedes at the time of the crash.

Hamed was showing what his car could do when he crossed a solid white line at a speed of at least 90mph and crashed head-on into a Volkswagen Golf that emerged from a dip in the road.

The Golf, driven by 38-year-old Mr Burgin, was propelled backwards by the impact of the collision.

'Stupid, suicide, ridiculous'

The court heard Hamed's car then hit a second vehicle, a Ford Mondeo he had been trying to overtake.

The driver of the Mondeo, Michael Wood, described Hamed's overtaking manoeuvre in court as "stupid, suicide, ridiculous".

Jailing Hamed on Friday, the Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Alan Goldsack said the only possible sentence was custody.

"It is far too serious for anything else", he said.

The judge added: "As you approached the brow of a hill you could not see what was coming and the near inevitable happened.

"Your car was in virtually head-on collision with a car driven by Mr Anthony Burgin, with his wife Clare as a passenger.

"You could easily have killed Mr Burgin."

'Very disappointed'

Outside court, the Burgins' solicitor, Jane Wright, said the couple were "extremely relieved" by the sentence.

She said: "People must never underestimate the amount of damage done to people's lives through driving dangerously on the roads."

Hamed's solicitor, Steve Smith, said he was "very disappointed" with the result and said he did not think Hamed's celebrity status had been an advantage.

Asked how Hamed would cope with prison, Mr Smith said: "I think anybody in a situation like this would be fearful about what would happen.

"I don't think he's unique in that respect but I think he'll deal with it with extreme dignity which is nothing less than I would expect from him."

Awarded MBE

Hamed - born in Sheffield to Yemeni parents - was just 17 when he made his boxing debut in 1992 and soon earned a reputation for flamboyance in victory.

He won the world featherweight title in 1995 and was awarded an MBE in 1999.

Hamed remained unbeaten until 2001, when he lost to Mexico's Marco Antonio Barrera.

In November, he announced that he intended to make his boxing comeback in the United States this year.

[url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/4764161.stm]BBC News[/url]