Harvey 'humbled' by near-fatal accident

East 17 star Brian Harvey has admitted that he was "humbled" by his near-fatal 2005 car accident.

The 32-year-old singer was left comatose after being crushed by his own car in May 2005, also suffering a broken leg, a smashed pelvis and several crushed ribs.

He told DS: "It was a real humbling experience, put it that way. When you're laying there and your life's in other people's hands, and you've got handlebars sticking out of you that have been screwed into your hip-bones either side and you're just a mess, I can't tell you how that feels."

At first Harvey found the recovery period disheartening, but he was overwhelmed by the public support that greeted him when One Life: Being Brian Harvey, a BBC One documentary tracking his recovery, aired in December that year.

"I was really shocked by the response I got. I expected everyone to put the boot in afterwards and say: 'F**king idiot, look at him!' but it weren't like that, and that was a nice thing," he said.

"Old ladies would come up to me at Tesco at four in the morning and say: 'How are you? You alright?' It really dawned on me that the whole country knew about it, and actually sat down and watched the documentary, which was a nice thing."

East 17 begin a seven-date UK reunion tour - a double bill with fellow boyband 911 - at Ipswich's Regent Theatre on Friday.