Driver jailed for 4.5 years for causing boyfriend's death

Mia Howarth, 21, sobbed as the Court of Appeal decided her original sentence of three years should be raised to four and a half years.

Howarth, who was 18 at the time, lost control of her Peugeot 107 while filming 17-year-old Alfie Lovett on Snapchat on the way to Brimham Rocks near Harrogate on September 12, 2023.

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He was sitting on the frame of an open window when the car veered off the road and hit a dry-stone wall.

Mr Lovett was trapped between the car and the wall and died at the scene.

Lord Justice Popplewell said the sentencing judge had been wrong to reduce the sentence due to poor prison conditions and had given too much weight to Howarth’s age.

The Attorney General referred the case to the Court of Appeal, calling the original sentence "unduly lenient."

Kelly Brocklehurst, representing the Attorney General, said: "We acknowledge there was a significant amount of mitigation but ultimately it was a sentence that had to punish the offender and deter further acts."

Glenn Parsons, representing Howarth, described the case as a "profound tragedy" and said Howarth’s grief was "overwhelming."

He told the court she was "embedded" in the Lovett family and had been a good influence on Mr Lovett, who had become a father 12 weeks before the crash.

Mr Parsons also criticised the delay in charging Howarth, noting she had admitted responsibility at the scene.

The court heard that Howarth had told police she had warned the boys to wear seatbelts and said it would be "her fault" if they took them off.

Howarth appeared in court via video link from HMP Low Newton near Durham and was visibly emotional during the hearing.