Oxfordshire land speed driver Mark Newby remained in the north of England last night to see if he could do anything to help Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond, injured in a high-speed crash.

The 36-year-old TV star was said yesterday to have suffered a 'significant brain injury', but doctors were optimistic he could make a full recovery, after the crash at Elvington airfield, near York, on Wednesday.

Following the crash, he was transferred from the disused airfield to Leeds General Infirmary, which has a specialist neurological unit.

It is thought the BBC presenter was driving the jet-powered dragster Vampire at between 280mph and 300mph when the vehicle veered to one side and rolled repeatedly.

Before being cut from the wreckage, Mr Hammond may have broken the British land speed record of 300.3mph, which was set by Colin Fallows, 54, from Northampton, in 2000 in the same car.

Vampire is one of a pair of jet-powered dragsters used in British land speed record attempts - the other is Split Second, driven by Mr Newby, 48, from Chinnor, near Thame.

In July, Mr Newby failed to break the record at RAF Fairford, near Cirencester, in the car, which is powered by a Rolls Royce Viper engine from a commercial jet.

He was not available for comment yesterday, but his wife Wendy, speaking from their home in Chinnor, said: "Mark was watching the attempt - everyone was there.

"He will be staying up north for a few days to see if there is anything he can do for Richard. His priority is making sure Richard is OK, and then we expect him to come home."

Fellow Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson, who lives near Chipping Norton, was also at the Leeds hospital yesterday.

He said: "I would just like to say how heartened Richard will be when I tell him just how many motorists and truck drivers on my way here wound down their windows to say they were rooting for him.

"James May and I are at the hospital in Leeds where Richard remains in intensive care. Obviously at this time both he and his family are the most important concerns we have. It must be devastating for his wife Mindy and his two utterly adorable children.

"Both James and I are looking forward to getting our hamster back."

James May co-presents the programme with Mr Clarkson and Mr Hammond.

Mr Hammond, who lives with his wife Amanda, 35, and two daughters Isabella, five, and Willow, two, near Cheltenham began presenting the motoring show in 2002.

The show was cancelled in 2001 after ratings fell to 3m but it was resurrected by Mr Clarkson in 2002.

The BBC has confirmed that the crash took place during filming for Top Gear.

Last month, residents living near Enstone airfield in west Oxfordshire celebrated after plans for a high-speed driving track for Top Gear were refused.

Mr Clarkson, who was splattered with a custard pie at a degree ceremony at Oxford Brookes University last year, was invited to attend a 'petrol addiction rehab clinic' in Broad Street, Oxford, today.