Dad couldn't handle youths playing a prank on him - his rage ended in near-tragedy

A vigilante mowed down an innocent university student in his Land Rover then left him for dead while hunting youths who played knock-and-run at his family home.

Oliver Donnellan, 47, left Christopher German with serious leg injuries after ploughing into the 20-year-old business management undergraduate as he sat on a park gate with friends.

The father-of-two had earlier flown into a rage after two teenagers he had a confrontation with a week earlier outside his £350,000 semi-detached property knocked at his door as a prank then ran off.

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He decided to give chase, jumped into his 4x4 Discovery with his brother and drove almost two miles to an area where it was known local youths would hang out. He sped along a grass track leading to Cutacre Country Park in Atherton, near Wigan, in the hope of finding the culprits - but instead hit Christopher who was watching Dr Who on a mobile phone.

The victim, who had not been involved in the earlier incidents, was struck in the legs and thrown onto the bonnet of the Land Rover, which then sped away as his friends tended to him. Christopher later had to have his left knee fully reconstructed and doctors say he will develop arthritis by his late 20s.

He was forced to retake the second year of his degree at the University of Manchester and was left unable to play football without leg supports or go skateboarding with friends. He was housebound for several months and had to get assistance from his parents to wash and bathe.

Donnellan, who was director of an IT consultancy, dashed home after the crash and deliberately parked his Land Rover in the driveway front-end first so passers-by would