A paramedic who was in an ambulance that crashed after a brick was thrown through its windscreen is still fighting for compensation after he lost an eye in the accident almost six years ago.

Nick Horobin aged 36, was driving the ambulance which overturned at Shirley Hollow on the A52 in Derbyshire on 23 September 2001. He suffered serious head injuries and underwent emergency surgery but still lost one of his eyes.

Mr Horobin of Uttoxeter in Staffordshire has been offered £40,000 from the Criminal Cases Injury Authority, but has refused to accept this as he insists he deserves more.

Mr Horobin was forced to leave his job as a paramedic and now works as a carer in a nursing home. He says his injuries have wrecked his career as an ambulance driver and he now intends to use his compensation money for retraining as a nurse.

He said: “I’m going to take this all the way to Downing Street. I’m not going to let it lie because I don’t see why I should. I think its time to draw a line under it, put it behind me…I could be waiting another four years for this and it’s just not right, I need to get on with my life.”

A Criminal Cases Injury Authority spokesperson said: “We are required to collect certain information before we are able to make a payment, for instance, evidence from the police… and from medical authorities about the nature of the injury. So cases will always take a certain amount of time to process, especially if the applicant decides to ask for a review of the decision by a more senior member of CICA staff, as they are entitled to. Nonetheless we recognise that the time it is taking to process cases is currently too long… we are undertaking a major reform programme to speed up our case working processes.”

The Criminal Cases Injury Authority said it was due to make another offer to Mr Horobin later this week.