It's inevitable that in a car show as long-running as Top Gear, there's going to be the occasional mishap. Some have been worse than others and previous presenter, Richard Hammond, had two near-death accidents in his time of the show. One was nearer death than the other though when the drag racing car he was driving went out of control at 288.3 mph and left him with a "significant brain injury". Thankfully, he recovered and went on presenting the show.

That was one of more than 160 crashes on the show, and now the BBC is reporting that new presenter Freddie Flintoff has added to that tally while driving a motorized trike known as a Time Bandit.

The 41-year-old ex-professional cricket player is quoted as being "absolutely fine" following the accident. He wasn't hurt and didn't need medical attention after he "run out of runway" during a drag race with his co-presenters Freddie Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness. "I go to great lengths to make sure I do well in Top Gear drag races but on this occasion, I went a few lengths too far! It will look more ridiculous than dangerous when you see it on TV," said Flintoff. For the race, Top Gear was using the same airfield location where Hammond's horrifying crash took place.

It could have gone a lot worse as the three-wheeled motorcycle is of a forward-mount style, with the rider/driver laying on their front, and capable of over 120 mph. "He was going flat out. Then there was an almighty bang. Dust was flying everywhere and everyone raced over," an onlooker said.

A BBC spokesperson was keen to point out how seriously health and safety is taken for the show and that "Tuesday's filming at Elvington Airfield was no exception - but he suffered no injuries as a result of his spontaneous detour, as fans will see for themselves when we show the sequence in full in the next series."