A DRIVER who "ruined the life" of a Bradford grandma when his "dangerous and irresponsible" driving caused a lorry to plough into her motability car on the M62 has been jailed.

Shamzad Iqbal, 33, "used his car as a weapon" when deliberately braking harshly numerous times in front of a Volkswagen Polo containing 53 year-old Mary Daglan and four members of her family on July 4, 2014.

The impact of the crash caused Mrs Daglan's legs to "split open", and Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday that her injuries had left her "virtually bed-ridden" with "no quality of life".

Prosecutor Michael Smith told the court that Michael Blunn, Mrs Daglan's son-in-law, had been driving the family back to Bradford following a day out at Legoland in the Trafford Centre in Manchester.

She was a front-seat passenger in the car, with Mr Blunn's partner, Nicola Daglan, her three year-old son Taylor, and her five-year old nephew Alfie, in the back.

Mr Blunn was driving in the outside lane towards Bradford when Iqbal, whose Ford Focus had been zig-zagging lanes to undertake a number of drivers, came up behind him.

He began tailgating the Polo and flashing his lights, causing Mr Blunn to move into the middle lane to let him past.

Iqbal then moved ahead of the family's car in the middle lane of the carriageway and held up three fingers, one at a time, before braking sharply.

Mr Smith said he repeated the manoeuvre a number of times leaving the occupants of the Polo "frightened and screaming".

Iqbal drove off, but a couple of minutes later, Mr Blunn saw the Ford Focus again, driving in the inside lane near to Hartshead Moor services.

He pulled into the middle lane in front of them and braked sharply again, with Mr Smith saying Iqbal "must have been waiting for them".

When Mr Blunn braked heavily, his car was struck from behind by a tanker lorry, lifting the vehicle off the ground.

The court heard that the front seats of the Polo collapsed under the impact of the collision, causing Mrs Daglan's legs to "split open" below the knee.

She had to be cut free from the car by the fire service and was taken to hospital by air ambulance, also suffering from a broken arm and broken ribs.

Mr Blunn suffered a fracture to his lower back with Nicola Daglan suffered bruising to her chest and back.

After causing the crash Iqbal accelerated away on to the M606 towards Bradford and was only traced by police after the registration details of his vehicle were given by another lorry driver who witnessed it.

Reading from her victim impact statement, Mr Smith said Mrs Daglan, who was already classified as disabled as she suffered from arthritis, now "mourned for the life she once had".

"She can do little else but get out of bed in the morning," he said.

"She is in terrible pain and has no quality of life now."

In his victim statement, Mr Blunn said the "mental grief" of the collision had led to the break-up of his relationship with Nicola Daglan, who had suffered from depression following the incident.

In her statement, she said: "It feels like there is a death, I am mourning the person my mum was. She has changed so much and is still in pain and suffering."

Mitigating for Iqbal, of Melba Road, Canterbury, Bradford, Shufqat Khan admitted his client was guilty of a "horrific piece of dangerous driving, the consequences of which are even worse".

He had pleaded guilty to two charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving during a hearing on Monday.

Sentencing him to three and a half years in prison, Judge Jonathan Rose said Iqbal, who had been on licence at the time of the offence after being jailed for six years for wounding with intent in 2009, had been "intent on showing his anger" to Mr Blunn.

"You were responsible for deliberately dangerous driving of such gravity that you ruined the life of one victim and caused serious injuries to a second," he said.

"You behaved in the way you did because your arrogance caused you to use your car as a weapon against a family who up to that point had been enjoying a joyous day out.

"You are 33, but you were acting in a foolish, stupid, and recklessly dangerous manner."

Iqbal was also disqualified from driving for five years and must take an extended re-test before re-obtaining his licence.