Security guard jailed after falling asleep and crashing bus full of colleagues Two passengers suffered long-lasting, serious injuries which they certainly had not recovered from within 12 months and will affect them for the rest of their lives. A judge sitting at Oxford Crown Court heard Nicholson had been driving from Wigan down to Weymouth, Dorset on June 9 2012 as a favour to his then employers, Close Protection UK Ltd., which was running security at the Portland Sailing Village event. No mechanical faults were found with the vehicle and the driving conditions were described as clear and good when the accident happened at 3.15pm. Nicholson initially told police he could not remember whether he had "dropped off" or had been scratching his eye. The court heard he had been travelling at an average speed of 74 miles per hour, but one passenger claimed it had been much faster at times. As he did not hold the required licence for the size of vehicle he had been driving, he was charged with driving dangerously, driving without insurance and driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence, which he admitted at an earlier hearing. Abdul Gofur, mitigating, told the court: "He had been driving the vehicle for a few hours and was under the impression he was licensed to drive it. Clearly it is a longer vehicle with more seats than he is licensed for. Mr Gofur described Nicholson, from Abbey Hills Road, Oldham, Lancs., as "terrified" of prison. He said he was of previous good character, has been married to wife Nicola for 10 years and the couple have three children, aged four, 10 and 13 years. The eldest, Brendan, suffers from Asperger's syndrome. Judge Patrick Eccles was given three character references from friends and family, describing Nicholson as "hard-working, honest and with strong family values." Mr Gofur said: "This family is on the breadline - the defendant's earnings vary from contract to contract and his wife has a zero-hour contract with Tesco. As a result of this conviction he won't be able to travel on his own for a significant period of time and that will impact on his earnings. The court heard that Nicholson, now employed by Group 4 Security, has previously worked at the London Olympics, the Queen's Jubilee celebrations and international rugby matches. Sentencing him to seven months in prison, Judge Eccles said the accident was caused by "a serious loss of concentration on your part, when almost certainly you fell asleep. "But for the intervention of your passenger the vehicle would have collided with the central reservation," he added. Two passengers sustained serious injuries that are likely to affect them for the rest of their lives. These consequences are permanent for them and whatever the court does, it will not affect you permanently. He described Nicholson as a "good man who has made a very bad mistake." Nicholson, whose wife watched from the public gallery, kept his eyes down as he was sentenced to seven months in prison for driving dangerously, with no separate penalty for the other offences, and ordered to spend half the sentence in custody. He was disqualified from driving for three years, with no order for costs or compensation made.