A SPECIAL constable who suffered life-changing injuries in a police car crash has been awarded a “substantial” sum of money in compensation.

Reece Clarke suffered life-changing injuries aged 19, when the squad car he was travelling in crashed into a taxi while responding to an emergency in Broadmayne, Basildon, in July 2011.

Yesterday, Judge Allan Gore QC, sitting at the High Court, agreed the final settlement to Reece and his family following the crash.

Reece’s dad, Steve Clarke, was in court and says he hopes his family can nowmove on from the incident.

Mr Clarke, 52, said: “Reece is financially secure for the rest of his life now. He could live to 90 and still be OK – it was a substantial amount.

“It’s a massive weight lifted off my shoulders and I’d like to thank Kimberley Owen from Minster Law for all her help. She has been fantastic.

“Reece needs 24-hour care, but he has a fantastic team around him and they love him.

“His mates have been brilliant too, as have the police. They have kept him in the family and whenever there is a police event they always say ‘Reece is coming too’.

“He was written off by specialists a long time ago, but he has amazed them and who knows, in three or four years he might be taking steps by himself.”

The Clarke family used a six-figure interim compensation payout to modify their home in Thorpe Hall Close, Thorpe Bay, and Reece moved home in September last year after spending years in hospital and a specialist rehabilitation unit in Surrey.

When finalising the compensation settlement, Judge Gore praised Mr Clarke and his family for their dedication to caring for Reece.

Addressing Mr Clarke directly, he added: “Sir, you and your family are to be congratulated for all that you have done to try to bring out as great a degree of recovery that could ever possibly have been hoped for in a tragic case such as this.

“I hope the conclusion of the legal aspects will bring some finality to these events and leave your son cared for and provided for, for the future, so you and your family can return to being what you are supposed to be, which is family, rather than carers.

“I wish you all the very best for the future.”

Officer remains good friend REECE Clarke suffered catastrophic head injuries when the police car he was travelling in collided with a taxi in Basildon.

PC Ian Thompson, who was driving, still remains firm friends with Reece, 23, who even attended his wedding.

Reece was volunteering with the police in the hope of becoming an officer.

The squad car flipped during the crash, resulting in Reece’s injuries.

Reece was left in a coma for nearly a month after the crash.

He spent years in hospitals and a specialist rehabilitation centre in Surrey, before finally moving back to his specially adapted home in Thorpe Bay.

The modifications to his home were held up by a fight over planning permission, but that was resolved and Reece moved home last September.

The final compensation claim was worked out by insurers acting on behalf of PC Thompson and Essex Police.

Patrick Vincent QC, representing the county’s police force, said: “I would like to express the defendants’ hope that the settlement will achieve the best it can for Mr Clarke, and we are pleased it has ended in this way.”