Hammond, 33, recently revealed his battle with depression after narrowly surviving an horrific accident in a jet car in September 2006 at almost 300mph while filming for Top Gear.

He had been trialling a jet-powered Vampire Dragster when the front-right tyre failed. 

Surgeons confirmed that he suffered “serious head injures”, but would make a full recovery. When he returned to the programme, in January last year, he was given a hero’s welcome complete with dancing girls and fireworks 

Hammond said: “It’s been a bloody long journey and it’s still going. It’s when I consider how far I’ve come since I was in hospital that I realise there was a lot more to fix than I thought.”

He revealed that he still has memory loss and emotional difficulties and has damaged the part of his brain that controls spatial awareness, which means he has problems parking.

Away from the small screen, the motoring journalist revealed he also wants to become a gentleman farmer. 

After a recent ill-fated move from Gloucestershire to Buckinghamshire, which he abandoned after only 48 hours, he now wants to buy a smallholding back in the West Country, to where he has returned. 

He wants to purchase the £650,000 house in Bromsberrow, Gloucs., which he currently rents, and then set up a farm. But Hammond is not so keen on the hard life down on the farm.

“I plan to find someone to manage it for me. Then I’ll stand there in my posh farmer wellies and annoy everyone by flouncing up from London every weekend and calling my sheep cows.”

A friend, who lives locally, said: “The sale is far from confirmed, but if it goes ahead Richard plans a small family farm with a few animals. 

“He’ll have a few acres which he won’t want to see wasted, but he certainly won’t be giving up his day job. It won’t be a commercial venture and will probably be looked after by his wife, Mindy.”

Hammond also has two daughters, Isabella, seven, and Willow, four. 

The friend added: “Environmentally, it might give something back to make up for all his cars.”