A SPEEDING motorist who killed an "innocent, decent" father out walking his dog has been jailed.

Nick Adlington, prosecuting, said Ryan David Jones, 24, closely followed by Dominic Benjamin Hippe, 29, was driving south at twice the speed limit through Brayton at 8.30am on the Sunday of last August's Bank Holiday weekend.

Jones lost control of his Vauxhall Corsa on a wide left-hand bend. It spun round and hit Richard Grainger, 43, and his dog Bailey on the pavement. Mr Grainger was thrown into a wall and Bailey was thrown 26 metres in the air. The car then crashed into a tree and rebounded into the middle of the A19 Doncaster Road.

Jones had only passed his driving test four months earlier.

In a statement, Mr Grainger's widow Rachel wrote that his death had affected every part of their family's life.

"Nothing can ever be the same any more," she wrote.

In addition to immediately killing Mr Grainger and severely injuring Bailey, the crash also left Jones' friend and passenger Reece Powell, 23, with a neck broken in four places and two fractures in his back. He is now registered disabled and will never work as a roofer again.

The Corsa's second passenger, Anthony Johnson, suffered a fractured skull.

Jones' barrister Andrew Espley said he had not driven on a public road since and was so full of remorse his character had changed from a lively young man to someone who was very withdrawn.

"He will have to live with the knowledge that he killed an innocent, decent man," he said.

Judge Andrew Stubbs QC told Jones: "This was determined bad driving, not far short of dangerous driving.

"Mr Grainger, who had his back to your vehicle, had no chance to know what was happening."

Jones, of Fostergate, Selby, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving. In addition to the 16-month prison sentence, he was banned from driving for three years and eight months and ordered to take an extended driving test before driving alone again.

Mr Adlington told York Crown Court Jones and Hippe met in a supermarket car park where Hippe had been performing handbrake turns and doughnuts with his BMW.

The pair had then headed south in convoy 20 metres apart through Brayton doing 60 mph to 70 mph in the village's 30 mph and 40 mph zones and were probably doing the same when Jones lost control.

The judge said Hippe had been "driving like an idiot" in the car park and Jones had chosen to drive at speed.

Hippe, of Mill House Caravan Site, Askern near Doncaster, pleaded guilty to fraud by lying that he had no motoring convictions when obtaining car insurance, driving without insurance and skipping bail and will be sentenced in four weeks' time.

Mr Adlington said the prosecution could not say that the two drivers were racing and Hippe was not accused of involvement in Mr Grainger's death.