Freddie Flintoff has been training a guide dog as he continues to recover from his horror Top Gear crash injuries.

The retired England cricket hero is caring for the pooch as part of his rehab after suffering ‘life-altering’ facial wounds. He was spotted out walking the Labrador puppy near his £5.25million home in Hale, Manchester.

Freddie, 45, looked relaxed as he strolled along wearing a beanie hat, backpack and tinted glasses. But pals have revealed when he first started training his new furry friend, he was prone to taking a tumble.

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Last month former team-mate Steve Harmison, 45, described meeting up with the injured star a few weeks earlier. He said: “Believe it or not, he was training a guide dog. Which I’m sure is going better now than it was, because he tripped over about three times on his way around the field.”

Fans have been thrilled to see the dad-of-four back on his feet after the smash in December, when his open-topped, three-wheeled car flipped over on the Top Gear test track. He was airlifted to hospital from Dunsford Aerodrome in Surrey.

Freddie was not wearing a helmet when he lost control of the Morgan Super 3 roadster while taking a corner at 22mph.

He quit his presenting job soon afterwards and the BBC cancelled the last series of the show. After months of hiding his injuries, he made his first public appearance in September when he coached England cricketers in Cardiff.

Speaking afterwards, Steve said: “It was great to see him back. You’ve seen the pictures of him with a smile on his face but I saw him about six weeks ago – but at that time he covered his face up.”

Freddie is said to have received £9million in compensation for the accident – a figure based on two years’ lost earnings. The BBC says no final decision has been made about the future of Top Gear.

However, Flintoff will return to the corporation for a second series of Field Of Dreams, mentoring youngsters in cricket.

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