A teenager who suffered serious injuries when the car he was a passenger in ploughed into a 4x4 has spoken out for the first time about the “devastating” impact the crash has had on his life.

George Hill, from Wooburn Green, suffered a string of injuries including a broken left leg, lacerated liver and a severe cut and ligament damage to his right thumb when the Ford Fiesta he was in crashed into another vehicle on a single-track road in Flackwell Heath.

The injuries meant George – who was 16 at the time of the crash on October 29 last year – was forced to give up his fledgling plastering career.

To mark National Road Safety Week, which runs from November 20 to 26, George is speaking out for the first time about the effect of the shattering crash – and is urging drivers not to use country roads as “race tracks”.

He was a rear seat passenger in the Fiesta, which was travelling at 60mph, when despite repeated calls from passengers to slow down, the car crashed into an oncoming vehicle.

He was knocked unconscious by the impact and had to be cut free from the wreckage.

George, now 17, was taken to Wexham Park Hospital in Slough where he underwent surgery on his leg and thumb and spent 10 days in hospital.

He said: “I remember being in the car and me and a friend were telling the driver to slow down as we went over a hill, then there was a huge bang and grinding of metal.

“The next thing I was woken up by passers-by who had stopped to help. There was blood everywhere and my thumb looked like it was hanging off.”

He had just started a two-year plastering course at college in Flackwell Heath, with the intention of joining the family business run by dad Christopher Hill – but the crash has left him unsure what to do with his future.

George still suffers pain in his leg. He has limited right hand and arm movement and cannot hold a trowel properly, meaning he is unable to plaster.

He said: “Ever since I was young I wanted to join dad’s business, now I don’t know what I want to do.

“It’s been a real challenge trying to come to terms with the devastating impact my injuries have had on my life, but I also have to remind myself I’m lucky to be alive.

“I’m now trying to focus on my rehabilitation. I hope that my story acts as a warning to drivers of the dangers they can pose by acting recklessly on country lanes.”

The theme of this year’s National Road Safety Week is ‘Speed Down Save Lives’ with road safety charity Brake warning motorists not to use rural roads as race tracks.