A PUB landlord, renowned for chasing petrol thieves along the M40, has launched a legal battle against a pub chain.

Peter Sanford who used to run the now-closed George and Dragon pub, at Fritwell, near Bicester, claims an injury sustained while working there has left him needing to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

He says he trapped both his feet in a drainage area just outside the door in July 2009 and fell sideways, snapping bones in his legs.

He claims the incident also caused damage to his spine and pelvis.

The 44-year-old appeared in the Oxford Mail in 2007 after chasing petrol station robbers up the M40 after a raid at Bayards Green.

But Mr Sanford has now launched a legal battle against pub owners Admiral Taverns and has accused the brewer of fitting sub-standard doors to the pub.

The company refutes all his claims.

Mr Sandford, who said his case is likely to go before the High Court in June, is suing the pub firm for loss of income and personal injury, and claims that he was mis-sold the 20-year lease.

He said: “I will be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life.

“I can walk for five or six metres if I am held up by someone else.

“If you think about me chasing villains up the M40, I was very active.

“To go from that to be disabled for the rest of my life is devastating. The damage is not only physical for anyone in this situation, it’s also the hours spent crying about why this happened to me.”

Mr Sanford claims he was mis-sold the lease because the firm was not clear about how much he would earn from the pub.

Meanwhile, Mr Sanford and his wife Phiona, 24, who is due to give birth to their first child at any time, say they are stuck at the pub until their claim has been settled.

He said: “We have got no choice but to stay here until the brewery do something about it because the council won’t house us without a possession order.

“We don’t have the money to rent privately. We are imprisoned here because I have been made bankrupt because of not being able to work.”

A spokesman for Admiral Taverns said: “We have been in contact with Mr Sanford about his lease at the George and Dragon and refute the allegations that he has made through his legal claim.

“We feel it would be improper to make any further comment until a court decision has been made.”