Popular Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond was critically injured in a car crash on Wednesday while attempting to break the British land speed record in a rocket-powered super car capable of speeds in excess of 300mph (480km/h).
According to the BBC Hammond was on his last run of the day at a former RAF airfield in Elvington, near York.
He was driving a car called the Vampire, which is 30 feet long and powered by a Rolls Royce Orpheus jet engine.
According to witnesses the car had reached around 280mph when it suddenly veered off the track and rolled over a number of times, before coming to a stop upside down.
The first person on the scene was former firefighter Dave Ogden, who said Hammond's head was dug into the dirt, despite the rollbar protection the car has.
"We were down there with Top Gear who were filming him trying to break the British land speed record," Ogden told the BBC.
"On the previous run, the car had just gone over 300mph but I am not sure if it had broken the record.
"They had just done one more run and were planning to finish when it veered off to the right.
"One of the parachutes had deployed but it went on to the grass and spun over and over before coming to a rest about 100 yards from us."
Hammond was rushed to Leeds General Infirmary's neurological unit by air ambulance and was in a critical condition before being declared stable.
The full extent of his injuries is not yet known.
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