Brother of Hull man killed by drink-driver calls for tougher sentencing

A Hull man whose brother was killed by a drink driver is backing calls for tougher criminal driving sentences.

Stephen Blount's brother, Tony, was mowed down by a driver who was two and a half times over the legal drink drive limit back in 2006 and he also nearly died in the accident.

The man responsible served just 20 months of a 3 and a half year prison term after being charged with death by dangerous driving.

There are now calls for criminal drivers who kill to be charged with manslaughter - which carries a possible life sentence.

90% of people in Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire say they support such a move, including Stephen who told Viking:

"The drink driver who ran down three of us, he only served 20 months of a 3 and a half year prison sentence and to us that was a kick in the stomach. When you lose someone you love in this way no amount of sentence is going to be enough but for it to be so low is an insult.

"It was devastating, we were absoloutely shocked that was all he got. All the sentencings were combined into one sentence; he hit three people, he was speeding and he was drunk and all of these things should be treated seperately.

"It's not just like people think, you get knocked down by a car and you get up and you carry on. It is not like that. You have to overcome so many life changes and without the one you love, while you are also dealing with your own injuries and experiences."

At present people can either be charged with causing death by dangerous driving or causing death by careless driving and the average prison sentence for a driver who has killed someone is less than four years.

Almost two thirds of people questioned by road safety charity Brake think those convicted should be jailed for at least 10 years.

Brake is now calling on the government to immediately review guidelines for both charging and sentencing criminal drivers.

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