The family of a man seriously injured by a hit and run driver who then lied to police say their lives have been “ruined”.

Giuseppe Tocco, from Billericay, was hit by a white BMW as he walked home from a Christmas night out on Friday, December 12 last year.

Mr Tocco, who was left in the middle of the road after driver Nicholas Regan sped off, suffered serious head wounds, leaving him with a traumatic brain injury.

He has medium-term memory loss, which affects his work as an electrical technician and means he has lost treasured family memories.

The dad-of-one, 41, was also left with nine fractured ribs, fractured bones in his spine and a collapsed lung.

Mr Tocco was found minutes after the hit and run in Perry Street, Billericay, by a passer-by, who cared for him and phoned an ambulance.

His wife Victoria, 36, said: “My husband’s head was completely smashed open, he was unconscious and left to die at the side of the road.

"It was touch and go at every point.

“The police knocked on my door and I was given the impression that he wasn’t going to make it. It was an awful time.

“When I think back to last Christmas, I was nursing Giuseppe back to health and was helping him make his first few steps again.

“He will never be the same again. He has managed to get back to work but that has brought about a lot of memory issues, so we aren’t sure if he is able to carry on.”

Regan, 24, of Bushy Mead, Basildon, was handed a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, after he admitted perverting the course of justice.

Other charges including failing to stop after a road accident, and failing to report an accident, were ordered to lie on file.

Basildon Crown Court heard how he told police the courtesy car involved in the crash had been stolen, and was not being driven by him.

Regan kept up the pretence for ten months, despite officers finding forensic evidence.

Speaking of the sentence, Mrs Tocco said: “We just don’t really think justice has been served, he deserves to be in prison.

“We think the police did an amazing job - that’s the only reason it went to court otherwise he wouldn’t have pleaded guilty.

“We would have forgiven him if he had stopped as accidents happen, but he didn’t. If he was really remorseful, he would have been in touch with us.”

DEFENDANT COLLAPSES AFTER AVOIDING JAIL BY "A HAIR'S BREADTH"

NICHOLAS Regan collapsed in the dock after being told he would be spared prison.

Recorder Brian Argyle said the dad-of-one, who was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work alongside his suspended sentence as well as an 18-month drive ban, had avoided jail “by a hair’s breadth".

Basildon Crown Court heard how Regan sped off from the scene of the crash and dumped the white BMW in a car park seven miles away.

The courtesy car had been given to Regan by his insurance company after he was involved in another crash just a week earlier.

Oliver Snodin, prosecuting, said: “When police found the car there was evidence of a crash, and damage to the bonnet and front windscreen.

“The police attended an address that was linked to Regan, and Regan said that the car had been stolen earlier that evening.”

Police then analysed glass fragmants found on his clothes, blood from the car, and followed the BMW's movements using its in-built tracker system, which suggested Regan was lying.

He maintained his innocence up until the case went to court.

Peter Bedingfield, mitigating, said: “It was at night and it was dark. I am not trying to shift any blame to Mr Tocco, but he said that Mr Tocco simply stepped out in front of him and he did not have any time to stop.

“The real bad behaviour is leaving the scene of the accident and for that he is very remorseful. He left the scene in a moment of sheer panic and what he did further was digging himself into a hole because he was so fearful of the consequences.”

The court heard that Regan was convicted of actual bodily harm in 2009, and possession of cannabis in 2014.