A JOCKEY whose career was ended when he was hit by a police car responding to an emergency call is to sue Cheshire police.

Patrick Thompson, 31, of High Ash, Faddiley, says experts have told him he will never ride again after he was struck by PC Paul Mullen's car while walking across the street.

The 35-year-old officer was acquitted of dangerous driving after a trial at Warrington Magistrates Court but convicted of careless driving.

The impact was captured on a video camera attached to the rear-view mirror of Mullen's Volvo T5 police car.

The court watched the seconds leading up to the collision, during which the officer's car climbed to a speed of 76mph in Nantwich town centre's 30mph restricted Welsh Row.

He was responding to a 'category one' call for assistance from a colleague at a brawl outside Gregory's nightclub.

A gasp swept the room as magistrates and friends and family of Mr Thompson watched him tossed over the bonnet - smashing the reinforced windscreen - before landing 16 metres away.

Mr Thompson, who can walk only with the aid of crutches nearly a year on, was comforted by his mother Anne Plumbley as the graphic recording was played.

His skull was broken in six places, the bones of one leg were snapped in two and the other leg was shattered.

The incident happened at 2.20am on Easter Sunday's Nantwich Jazz and Blues Festival as he crossed the road to his girlfriend's car with a bag of chips. He had been drinking with old school-friends.

Richard Mullan, prosecuting, said the defendant had failed to respond sufficiently to the hazards present, after the onboard camera clocked the speed 1.5 seconds before impact at 50mph.

Mullen told the court: 'The way I was driving was perfectly safe. The error I made was not making a full assessment of Mr Thompson and his movements.'

Witnesses said they saw Mr Thompson walk into the road without appearing to notice the oncoming vehicle despite the 'blues and twos' blaring.

Nick Holroyd, defending the policeman of 15 years, said: 'He did increase his speed but at no stage did his driving reach that level which is far below the necessary standard. He was entitled to exceed the speed limit.'

Mullen was fined £450 and his previously clean driving licence will be endorsed with six penalty points.

Confirmation that the married father-of-two will still be able to respond to emergency calls pending an internal police inquiry has angered the victim.

Mr Thompson said: 'It makes me angry that I nearly lost my life and he has a fine and six points on his licence. I cannot do the job I love and I have been through unbelievable mental anguish.'

His solicitor, Dominic Moss, said his client was is in the process of taking action against the police. He added: 'We will be going for a six-figure sum.'

A police spokesman said: 'Because the officer in question is still under investigation we cannot comment.'