THE son of a Huddersfield magistrate has been jailed for 10 months after he caused a serious road accident while over the drink-drive limit.

Manraj Singh Uppal was said to have been driving at up to 80mph when he veered to the wrong side of the road and hit another car head-on.

And a court was told the crash left Anna Armstrong in a wheelchair for weeks and walking with a stick months after the incident.

Uppal, the son of prominent Huddersfield community leader and magistrate Balbir Singh Uppal, pictured, had been returning from a wedding party in Pudsey with his wife and two children at the time of the crash.

He veered onto the wrong side of the A58, near Cleckheaton Golf Club, and crashed head-on into a Nissan containing Halifax woman Mrs Armstrong and her 19-year-old son.

The force of the impact, which happened on a Saturday night last October, caused Mrs Armstrong’s car to spin round and collide with another vehicle containing two occupants.

Bradford Crown Court heard that 32-year-old Uppal, of Oastler Avenue, Huddersfield, had taken over driving the Mercedes from his wife that night after they received a phone call saying that a troublemaker was outside their family shop.

Prosecutor, Duncan Ritchie, said a van driver estimated that Uppal’s car was travelling at about 75 to 80mph after it overtook him near Chain Bar roundabout, but it then came across a slower moving car which was turning left onto Branch Road.

As the Mercedes veered onto the wrong side of the single carriageway Mrs Armstrong braked heavily but couldn't avoid the collision.

The court heard that Mrs Armstrong suffered multiple fractures in the collision and was wheelchair-bound for at least six weeks.

In a letter written about seven months after the incident she said she was still undergoing treatment for her injuries and was walking with the aid of a stick.

Uppal and his wife were also injured in the crash as were Mrs Armstrong’s teenage son and the two people in the third car.

Uppal initially indicated that his wife had been driving but pleaded guilty last month to charges of dangerous driving and driving while over the prescribed limit.

The court heard that a breath-test more than three hours after the collision revealed Uppal’s blood alcohol reading was 93 micrograms. The legal limit is 80.

Uppal’s barrister, Adam Birkby, said he accepted full responsibility because the alcohol in his system and the manoeuvre at speed made the driving dangerous. He submitted a number of references on behalf of Uppal including one from a councillor and one from an MP.

Judge Recorder David Kelly banned Uppal from driving for 18 months and said he would have to take an extended test at the end of that period.