A DRIVER was today preparing for jail after admitting that he killed a three-year-old boy by dangerous driving.

Justin Thomas Martin, 32, was at the wheel of a Mitsubishi 4x4 which crashed into a Rover car carrying little Blake Spencer on a country lane between Sherburn-in-Elmet and Tadcaster on January 14. Blake's mother, Kirstie Buckle, and other relatives watched Martin, of Little Fenton Lane, Sherburn-in-Elmet plead guilty. The crash left her so badly injured she is now in a wheelchair.

Judge Paul Hoffman, the Honorary Recorder of York, told Martin: "You must recognise that custody is inevitable."

He adjourned the case for pre-sentence and medical reports. Martin will be sentenced on August 16.

Updated: 08:43 Saturday, July 17, 2004