Richmond College students received a lesson in the harsh reality of dangerous driving this week.

The Twickenham college was visited by TV presenter Sophie Morgan, who is touring the nation with “Licence to Kill”.

It is based on her BBC3 documentary of the same name, educating young people about the dangers of driving.

She was paralysed at the age of 18 following a car accident after a house party, despite being sober herself, where she over-steered on a corner.

Miss Morgan delivered the talk to a heaving hall of more than 100 students, highlighting to risks of driving too fast and not paying attention.

She said: “Driving is actually the biggest killer of young people in the UK.

“That statistic completely surprised me when I first heard it as I would have expected it to be knife crime or drug abuse.

“After coming to terms with my own accident, I went out and spoke to so many young people and looked at all the different things that can happen behind the wheel.

“I realised that I was not alone.”

Her presentation to the youngsters included videos of her meeting other people dealing with the effects of dangerous driving.

She also spoke to young people who took part in illegal drag racing.

The presentation also gave students the opportunity to use Drive IQ, a software which educates people on how to be a safer driver.

Student Valentin Michev said: “I found Sophie’s story to be very touching and the messages from her talk really informative.

“She showed us how all young drivers need to take care behind the wheel and that we should understand that any small mistakes we make can have serious consequences.”

Richmond Council cabinet member for performance and community safety Tony Arbour said: “It is a very imaginative scheme as driving is a very important skill to learn.

“Young people behind the wheel of a car are in a position to get enormous pleasure out of driving but also able to cause harm as well.”

The Licence to Kill school tour will be visiting every BBC region of the UK in the academic year. Visit driveiq.co.uk for more information on the free Drive IQ software.