A HEROIN addict who set fire to his car after being involved in an accident which left a young woman paralysed was jailed for 14 months yesterday.

Pedestrian Meg Wilson, 21, from Monmouth, may never walk again after a collision with a car driven by John Dummett as she went home after a night out in her home town.

She remains on a life support machine, paralysed from the neck down needing constant medical attention at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Buckinghamshire.

Dummett, 34, of Troy Way, Monmouth, was sentenced after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice.

He also admitted failing to stop after an accident and driving without insurance.

Cardiff crown court was told yesterday Miss Wilson was in the accident with the Ford Mondeo driven by Dummett at the Wye Bridge junction on the northbound carriageway of the A40 near Monmouth town centre.

Prosecutor Hywel Hughes said the accident took place at around 11pm on May 29, 2005, after Miss Wilson had been drinking with friends in Monmouth.

He said the accident left her in a "very serious condition" adding the prognosis from Stoke Mandeville Hospital was "not particularly good". Mr Hughes said Dummett failed to stop at the scene and carried on driving as far as Whitchurch over the Wales-England border.

The court heard he ended up at a picnic site in Llandogo at around 2.05am. He undid the Mondeo's fuel cap and set fire to rag he pushed down towards the petrol tank.

A motorist driving past the blazing car raised the alarm and a police patrol found Dummett about half-an-hour later looking "pale and sweaty," Mr Hughes said. He said Dummett's criminal record included driving while disqualified, three convictions for using heroin and one shoplifting offence. Elizabeth Pearson, for Dummett, said her client had "immediately confessed" to the police and pleaded guilty to the charges at the first opportunity. She said he was making progress with his heroin addiction and was receiving the support of his partner with whom he has a three-month-old baby.

"He feels dreadful about what happened and has been in deep depression since the incident," Ms Pearson said. Judge Christopher Morton also banned Dummett from driving for one year.

Outside the court Miss Wilson's parents, David and Kazuko Wilson, said: "Meg remains in a serious condition on a life support machine and is the only focus of our attention."

Relative Alfie Goodrich added: "It is doubtful she will ever walk again - it will take a miracle."