A pedestrian "catastrophically" injured after being hit by a car could be due a multi-million-pound compensation payout after a judge found the driver was going "too fast".

James Sedge was terribly injured when he was hit by a BMW X5 - driven by 26-year-old Christopher Prime - as he tried to cross High Street, Sheerness, almost five years ago.

The 25-year-old was thrown across the road by the impact and hit a bollard, sustaining a serious head injury, which has left him needing 24-hour care.

Through his mother, Yolanda Skinner, Mr Sedge took his case to London's High Court, where Judge Gary Burrell found that Mr Prime's driving was "negligent".

The judge said Mr Prime was "75 per cent responsible" for the tragedy, saying Mr Sedge's actions also contributed to it, as he stepped out into the road without looking and was "oblivious" as to whether there was any traffic.

The crash happened at about 11pm on June 2, 2006 near the Crown pub as Christopher Prime was taking some friends to a nearby takeaway in his father's car - which had been collected from the showroom earlier that day.

Judge Gary Burrell said the area, which had traffic-calming measures, was busy; there was an incident outside the pub, and people were close to the traffic because the pavement was narrow.

He told the court: "In my judgment, at this particular time, this bollarded corridor was a particularly dangerous area, in the sense that a pedestrian could walk out at any time."

The judge's ruling means Mr Sedge will now be compensated on the basis of 75 per cent liability.

Given the extreme severity of his injuries, he will be due very substantial damages, even after a 25 per cent deduction. Multi-million-pound awards are now commonplace in such cases.