A MOTORIST who caused a seven-vehicle crash on the A133 Weeley bypass has been jailed.

James Eborall, 31, struck an oncoming car as he attempted a high-speed overtaking manoeuvre and then sparked off a string of other collisions.

Yesterday, Eborall, of Norwood Way, Walton on the Naze, was jailed for ten months after pleading guilty to a charge of dangerous driving at Ipswich Crown Court. He was also banned from driving for two years.

Eborall was driving a high-performance Subaru on October 12 last year, said prosecutor Lynne Shirley.

Other motorists had told of Eborall passing them at speeds estimated to be in excess of 80mph on a curved section of the single-carriageway road at a point where there was only limited visibility ahead, the court heard.

Van driver Wilfred Denton told police the car came from "out of nowhere". He said a blue Ford Mondeo coming from the opposite direction found itself directly in Eborall's path.

Miss Shirley said the two cars collided, causing the Mondeo to slide across the road to strike two other cars. That resulted in three other vehicles becoming involved in the crash, some sustaining serious damage and one having to be written off.

Eborall's badly damaged Subaru slid along the centre of the road before finally coming to rest.

Despite suffering a broken ankle, Eborall managed to get his two passengers - including a four-year-old girl - safely out before hobbling over to one of the other motorists, Toyota Yaris driver Adrian Taylor, and telling him: "I've made a stupid mistake. I'm sorry."

Another victim, Citroen driver Janice Forsett was with her 10-year-old son and five-year-old daughter when her car was struck. Her son suffered black eyes and whiplash while her daughter sustained back injuries.

The driver of a BMW suffered tissue damage to his back, causing him to lose his job as a lorry driver.

Miss Shirley said witnesses described Eborall's car as travelling at "tremendous speed" in a 60mph limit.

Eborall told officers: "It was a genuine mistake. I didn't think I was breaking any laws."

Marc Brown, mitigating, said Eborall, the father of a young child, accepted he had driven dangerously and was genuinely sorry.

It was not deliberate dangerous driving but Eborall was reckless, Mr Brown told the court.

"He has tried to overtake in circumstances where he shouldn't," he said.

Eborall, an Artex and coving installer, had estimated his speed to be less than that stated by witnesses.

Judge John Devaux said it was clear Eborall, who has a previous conviction from 2004 for speeding and failing to stop after an accident, was driving too fast.

"There were several collisions caused by your driving. Several people were injured" said the judge.

Eborall will have to undertake an extended driving test before getting his licence back when the two-year ban expires.