A man who left an innocent bystander fighting for his life after driving at a crowd of people outside an Oxford nightclub was today jailed for nine years.

Mane McKenzie revved the engine of his blue Renault Megane and hit Richard Waters after accelerating twice into the crowd in Magdalen Road outside The Regal.

Mr Waters, a grandfather of five who has been left permanently injured, wept as he spoke of his relief at McKenzie’s jailing.

Mr Waters, of Ridgeway Road, Risinghurst, was sent flying through the air after hitting the windscreen of McKenzie’s car, and was in a coma for six weeks.

The 52-year-old carpenter said: “This is the end of it and I feel good it’s over. I’m glad he got what he did, but I am angry with him still.”

Peter Coombe, prosecuting at Oxford Crown Court, said McKenzie, 25, had been involved in a fight inside the club earlier that evening and was seeking revenge on his alleged attackers.

But the crowd scattered, and instead McKenzie’s car hit Mr Waters, an innocent bystander who had been on a night out with his daughters.

Mr Coombe said: “He drove straight at the rival group that he had been in dispute with, but they were able to scatter.

“Mr McKenzie then reversed and drove deliberately at the group again in his efforts to hurt someone.

“He collided with Mr Waters and... he was sent flying. There were no attempts to brake or slow down the car.”

He said McKenzie, who was visiting relatives in Oxford, was arrested at an address in Leon Close, East Oxford, later that day.

McKenzie, of Brentwood Road, Swinton, near Manchester, admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent and two charges of dangerous driving.

Jennifer Edwards, defending, said: “He fully appreciates that he must be made to pay. He knows that Mr Waters and his family will pay for a long time and he is very, truly, sorry about it.”

Jailing McKenzie for nine years and banning him from driving for seven years, Judge Julian Hall said: “You hit an entirely innocent bystander and you changed his life forever.”

Speaking outside the court, Mr Waters’ wife Debbie, 49, said her husband had been left with hearing and sight problems, memory loss and speech difficulties after the incident on August 3.

She said: “Our life has changed completely. It has been devastating. Our family has been turned upside down.”

The couple’s daughter Becky Waters, 27, said: “I saw it all happen. I saw dad flying, he flew like a rag doll.”

Speaking after the sentencing hearing, Det Sgt Roger Lamboll, who led the investigation, said: “I am pleased at the sentence. It is a significant term for a serious incident that could so easily have been a fatality and Mr Waters and his family will all suffer as a result of this for the rest of their lives.

“I would like to thank them for supporting our investigation over the past six months.

“And I would also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the support we received from the local media in our appeal for witnesses and to thank all the members of the public who responded by coming forward and providing us with information.”