A DRINK driver has admitted causing an accident that left a young woman brain-damaged and fighting for her life.

Jack Balding, aged 26, pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and to one count of driving with excess alcohol at Bournemouth Crown Court on Monday.

Balding, of Upton Road, Poole, was arrested after the incident on Wimborne Road earlier this year.

Laura Watson had been walking to work at Tesco Fleetsbridge at 10.15pm on Sunday February 22 when she was struck by Balding's Peugeot 206 at the junction with Bailey Crescent.

The car left the road and ended up in a hedge, before residents rushed to the scene and found Laura by torchlight.

The 29-year-old sustained severe head injuries and was taken to Southampton General Hospital for emergency treatment, where medics placed her in an induced coma.

Doctors battling to save Laura were forced to remove part of her skull to relive the pressure building on her brain and family members were warned to expect the worst.

However, Laura - who suffered brain damage and leg injuries - has continued to make a remarkable recovery.

A Facebook group named 'Team Laura' was established by friends and work colleagues as she was in Southampton Hospital, and this website attracted more than 1,200 'likes' from people around the world.

Laura's younger sister, Sarah Watson, speaking to the Daily Echo earlier this summer after Laura was transferred back to Poole Hospital, said: "When she first woke she was unable to speak as tubes were still being used to help her breathe.

"But when she could she said she just couldn't believe that so many people were thinking of her, that it was all for her."

Balding is due to be sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court on October 16.