Top Gear star Richard Hammond thanks emergency crews 20 years on from crash

Image source, Ross Pollard/BBC Image caption, In his post on Instagram, Hammond, pictured in 2023, thanked all those involved in saving him

Former Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond has thanked emergency services for their help on the 20th anniversary of the crash in which he was nearly killed.

Hammond was seriously injured in September 2006 when the 320mph (515km/h) jet-powered Vampire dragster he was driving veered off the track at Elvington airfield, near York, during filming for the BBC show.

In an Instagram post, Hammond said he wanted to thank the members of the staff who rescued him and supported him following the accident "from the bottom of my heart".

In the post, he spoke of the events of that day and said he would be "forever grateful" to all those who helped him in the aftermath of the crash.