A husband who claimed that he became unfaithful and sexually disinhibited after suffering a head injury at work was awarded £3.2 million in damages yesterday.

Stephen Tame, 29, was transformed from a devout Christian into a sexually aggressive user of pornography after falling from a gantry in a cycle warehouse in 2002, the High Court ruled.

He has since had two affairs, one of which was with a 57-year-old fellow parishioner, used sex chat lines and visited prostitutes. His wife, Sarah, 30, left the family home in Wickford, Essex, to escape his amorous advances.

Judge Michael Harris ordered that his former employees Professional Cycling Marketing should pay extensive damages in anticipation of Mr Tame’s marriage ending within a year.

“This marriage will not survive. I even doubt whether it will last another year. But it will not survive beyond a year,” he said.

Mr Tame is still in need of care, which Mrs Tame cannot be expected to give, the judge added. “He was unfaithful to his wife in August and that was certainly one of the reasons she left him at that point.

“Much more recently he has been unfaithful again. That lack of faithfulness must be particularly hard for Mrs Tame to accept.”

Mr Tame, a regular churchgoer, had been married for just eight months when he suffered traumatic physical head injuries in a fall. He was in a coma for 53 days and doctors feared he would not survive.

After two years of rehabilitation, he had made a “miraculous” neurological recovery but was left with a different personality, the court was told. Mr Tame regularly watched pornographic videos and websites, rang sex lines, and misbehaved in the presence of females, the judge said.

As she gave evidence in court, Mrs Tame, who is receiving treatment for clinical depression, broke down. “We love each other but the love is slowly going,” she said. “We love each other but it’s not ‘in love’. I love Steve but it’s turning into friendship.” She said they attended church and often prayed together and she hoped that their faith would see them through the troubles.

Speaking for Mr Tame, Bill Braithwaite, QC, told the court that his client had recently visited a prostitute and also had a “fling” with a 57-year-old woman. “Mr Tame has a presentation which can be described as ‘fatuous euphoria’ and has been significantly disinhibited sexually — and a question has arisen in relation to Mr and Mrs Tame’s marriage.”

Professional Cycling Marketing, of Wickford Business Park, had admitted liability but contested the amount of the award.

Damages bill

£1.9m: nearly two thirds of the award is to pay for Stephen Tame’s future care on the basis that his wife will no longer be there to look after him

£300,000: part of the payout to cover Mr Tame’s loss of earnings

£150,000: awarded for his pain, suffering and lack of amenity, the court was told

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