AN animal welfare volunteer has been left in a wheelchair after the driver of a van carrying stray dogs to Britain for rehoming fell asleep at the wheel after a 44-hour non-stop journey from Spain.

Aaron Salter, aged 22, and fellow passenger Nicholas Allett, aged 25, both suffered horrific injuries when the Transit van crashed on the A38 in the early hours of the morning.

Spanish driver Miguel Alchapar Lopez fell asleep at the wheel shortly after delivering some of the dogs to an animal welfare centre in Plymouth.

The Transit van veered off the Devon Expressway near Chudleigh and hit a tree without braking, causing catastrophic and life changing injuries to the two passengers, one in the front seat and the other asleep in the rear of the van.

Mr Salter suffered a broken neck and back and has been left a paraplegic who will have to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Mr Allett suffered a broken ankle and severe leg and internal injuries and was unable to walk for four months after the accident in August, Exeter Crown Court was told.

Lopez, aged 24, from Alicante, escaped with minor injuries. The men had already dropped off 12 of the 17 dogs they brought to Britain and the other five escaped unhurt and have been found new homes.

The three men had set off from Spain on the morning of Saturday, August 15 and had been sharing the driving during a non-stop trip through France, with breaks to swap places and feed and exercise the dogs.

Lopez had been driving continually since they arrived in Calais and fell asleep at 3.45am. He had traces of cannabis in his blood but police were unable to say if it affected his driving or contributed to the crash.

The two victims both live in Spain but sent a message to Judge Graham Cottle begging him to show mercy on Lopez, whose sentence was suspended, meaning he can return to Spain.

Lopez admitted two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and was jailed for 15 months, suspended for two years and banned from driving in Britain for 18 months.

Judge Cottle told him: ’This is a truly awful case. One man’s life has been ruined and another has been very seriously affected. You were unfit to drive because you were too tired and fell asleep at the wheel of the transit.

’The consequences were horrendous for your two companions. Mr Salter will be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. That is a hideous outcome. Mr Allett is also still struggling with his injuries.

’To their eternal credit, both have made it quite clear they do not want to see you sent to prison as a result of what happened that night.’

Mr Gordon Richings, prosecuting, said Lopez had turned down an offer from one of the others to take over the driving when they set off after dropping off dogs at Plymouth in the early hours.

He had been planning to have a break after the next drop-off in Somerset and sleep in the back on the way to the final destination in Blackpool.

The van crashed off the road and the men were thrown out by the impact with the tree, but one crawled back into the wreckage where they were found after Lopez flagged down a police patrol.

He spoke little English but told police he had fallen asleep. Traces of cannabis were later found in a blood sample.

Mr Jeffrey Segan, defending, said Lopez has been distraught with remorse about the accident and the injuries to his two friends since the crash.

He said it was an unusual case of dangerous driving because there was no suggestion of excess speed or recklessness and Lopez’s only fault was to fall asleep at the wheel.