A YOUNG man who was "catastrophically" injured when a taxi skidded on ice in Heap Bridge is in line for multi-million-pound compensation.

Alex Pearson, then 23, had only been in the cab for two minutes when the driver lost control and smashed into an oncoming car in January 2010. His head was propelled forward by the impact, at up to 70mph, and struck a structural pillar beside the windscreen.

Mr Pearson, who now lives in Tottington after previously residing in Heap Bridge, suffered devastating spinal fractures and is now almost totally paralysed below the neck. Tetraplegic and confined to a wheelchair, he will need 24-hour care for the rest of his life.

He sued the cab driver, Anwar Mohammed, of Heywood Street, Cheetham Hill, and his lawyers accepted primary liability for the accident. But they successfully argued at Manchester High Court last year that Mr Pearson's payout should be cut by 25 per cent because he was not wearing a seatbelt.

Judge Platts said that if he had had a seatbelt on he would have suffered only minor whiplash symptoms which would have cleared up within six months.

Challenging that decision at the Court of Appeal today Christopher Melton, QC, said the 25 per cent reduction was "extremely harsh" on Mr Pearson. He had been trying to put on his seatbelt when the collision happened and was "very, very unlucky" that his head hit the pillar, rather than the softer windscreen.

Describing it as an "exceptional case", the QC said the cab driver was "plainly far more blameworthy" than his passenger.

Refusing permission to appeal, however, Lord Justice Kitchin said Judge Platts' decision could not be faulted. Had Mr Pearson been wearing a seatbelt, he would have suffered only "trivial" injuries, the judge told the court in London. "This was a case where the failure to wear a seatbelt did, for all intents and purposes, make all the difference."

Mr Pearson's appeal against the judge's decision stood "no reasonable prospect of success", he concluded. The amount of Mr Pearson's damages has yet to be finally assessed. However, given the extent of his care needs, his payout is bound to run well into seven figures, even after the 25 per cent reduction.

Following the accident five years ago, the Alex Pearson Fundraising Appeal was set up by friends and family. Previously, he had been a keen sportsman who worked for Radcliffe-based company Sportax.