A FORMER beauty queen from Altrincham has been jailed after she ran over a pedestrian as she drove home drunk from her work Christmas party.

Kristina Long, a former Miss Bolton, who left the man with ‘life changing injuries’, did not stop at the scene, instead driving a further 21 miles home, just after midnight on December 15, 2012.

Long, of New Copper Moss, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious injury, failing to stop at the scene of a collision and driving with excess alcohol.

She was sentenced to 12 months in prison at Manchester Crown Court, Crown Square. She was also banned from driving for two years and ordered to take an extended test.

The court was told witnesses rushed to the aid of the victim who was left with a broken neck and leg, a pelvic fracture and bleeding in the brain in the incident, which happened in The Crescent, Salford, a 20mph zone.

The 26-year-old, who worked for legal firm Keogh's, had earlier been at her office Christmas party at The Reebok stadium, in Bolton, and was dropping friends home in her Vauxhall Corsa before the crash.

She had agreed to drive her friend, Andrea Jackson, and two other men into Manchester.

The court heard that she was distracted by Miss Jackson being sick at the time of the accident, when she was driving at more than 30mph.

A relative called the police on Long's behalf shortly after she arrived home. She lived in Bolton at the time.

She was breathalysed, nearly two hours after the crash, and was still over the limit.

Her victim, 53-year-old David Robinson, a museum technician from Salford, needed weeks of hospital treatment and the effects of his injuries could be permanent.

Ch Insp Rachel Buckle said: "This man will have to live with the effects of this incident for the rest of his life.

"At the moment a man who was fit and healthy, a keen skier and runner, is struggling with the most basic of tasks.

"As for Kristina Long, all of these life-changing injuries, which were at one point life-threatening, are down to a stupid mistake.

"This young woman had a job and a minimal criminal record."