A HIT-AND-RUN victim has lashed out after the drunken driver who nearly killed him escaped jail.Alan Todd, 21, was left with a serious double leg break after Steven Woods mounted the pavement in his Mercedes van and ploughed into him.

A HIT-AND-RUN victim has lashed out after the drunken driver who nearly killed him escaped jail.

Alan Todd, 21, was left with a serious double leg break after Steven Woods mounted the pavement in his Mercedes van and ploughed into him.

Woods was given 200 hours of community service.

Speaking from his Ipswich Hospital bed, Mr Todd spoke of his anger at the light sentence.

He said: "I was expecting much more than that.

"A - he was drunk, B - he didn't stop and C - he could've quite easily killed someone.

"If I was walking on the other side of the pavement, he could easily have killed my friend."

Alan, who did not want his full address to be revealed, had been returning to his east Ipswich home in the early hours of Sunday morning after celebrating a friend's birthday.

The keen skateboarder now fears months of inactivity and agonising physiotherapy will prove a much stiffer sentence than that handed out to Woods.

He said: " I like to live a very active lifestyle and it's totally fouled that up for me. It'll be months before I'm back on my skateboard or rehearsing with my band."

Woods, of London Road, Ipswich, was also banned from driving for three years after South-East Suffolk Magistrates Court heard of his "genuine remorse."

But that sorrow cut little ice with Alan's mum Liz, who was furious Woods had escaped jail.

She said: "I got the call in the middle of the night that every parent dreads. We could have been planning a funeral on Sunday.

"Two hundred hours is less than Alan will be suffering in hospital. It will affect him for the rest of his life.

"I'm shocked, I was under the impression that drink driving and failing to stop after an accident were serious offences that carried a custodial sentence.

"I've completely lost my faith in the legal system."

Alan was walking home from his mate's house with close friend Emily Martin, 20, who witnessed the accident in gruesome close-up.

She said: "The first thing I saw was his shoes flying off. At first I thought someone had driven past and thrown their shoes at us, but then I saw Alan lying in the road."

Speaking after the case, Emily said the sentence had left her feeling numb. She said: "He could have killed us both if he's swerved a few feet more.

"I think he was remorseful. But at the same time, the sentence was not enough.

"At the end of the day, he could have killed him.

"I feel pretty shaken up by the whole thing. I'm basically really pissed off, it's just shocking."