Richard Hammond's crash helps him connect with Covid mental health sufferers

Former Top Gear star Richard Hammond says the brain injury he suffered in a 2006 car crash has given him a connection with those struggling with mental health due to the pandemic.

The 51-year-old presenter, who lives in Ross-on-Wye on the Welsh border, was lucky to survive the horrific accident 15 years ago when his jet-powered dragster experienced a tyre blow-out at high speed.

The vehicle careered out of control before flipping over multiple times, leaving him in a two-week coma with post-traumatic amnesia.

Read more: Former Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond filmed repeatedly ramming car into parking spot

"A brain injury isn't like a bone break - you don't suddenly just go, 'Okay, all better now. Let's move on'," said the presenter, who's latest motoring special entitled The Grand Tour: Carnage A Trois is now airing on Amazon Prime Video.

"And, as we've gone through this pandemic and its various lockdowns, I've realised not enough is mentioned about the effect it can have on people mentally.

"It's something I'm particularly alert to because of what happened to me."

Having previously stated that he experienced severe depression as a result of his nightmare smash, he added: "My heart goes out to anyone who may be suffering and I always take the time to talk them about it whenever I can."

And he reckoned that, with the Omicron variant on the rise and more restrictions looming, this Christmas could be a difficult time for a lot of people.

"Having to make decisions about who to prioritise meeting up with, whether it's colleagues, friends or family, that's a hard thing to try to balance," he said.

"There's potential there to cause real feelings of guilt in some."

And it's the pandemic which resulted in Carnage A Trois - a tongue-in-cheek, stunt-packed exploration of our French neighbours' attitude to cars and driving - being filmed largely in Wales, particularly Crickhowell and Llandrindod Wells.

"It was more or less shot on my doorstep, which is lovely," said Hammond.

"Not being able to travel to some remote jungle or desert forced us to re-evaluate what we have here in the UK, and Wales' scenery is just stunning.

"Because of Covid we filmed it pretty much in our little bubble - me, (Jeremy) Clarkson and (James) May, along with the crew.

"We also had a mobile lab come with us so we could be tested regularly - the last thing we wanted to do was transport the virus around all these little Welsh villages. We were super careful for that not to happen."

And his co-presenter James May was equally in awe of the local countryside in which they filmed.

"Wales is a particularly nice place to drive around because of the way it's shaped," said the 58-year-old, who lived in Caerleon as a young boy in the late '60s.

"Every hill you go over always has something interesting on the other side - whether it's the industrial works of Port Talbot or some sweeping rural view. I call it 'the Welsh surprise'.

"I also love the Transporter Bridge in Newport and would go over that whenever I could as a small lad.

"It was always among the highlights of my year."

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