Crash driver given more jail timeSentence increased for uninsured driver who caused the death of two passengers.
A drunk driver who killed two passengers will have his jail sentence increased following the intervention of the Attorney General.
Andrew Nicholls initially received a prison term of four years and eight months after a crash he was involved in while unlicensed and uninsured led to the deaths of Andrea Warmer, 19, and 24-year-old Simon Wright.
But that sentence has now been extended to seven-and-a-half years after judges in the Court of Appeal in London agreed with Baroness Scotland that the original term was too short.
Nicholls, 24, who had never taken a driving test, was jailed at Wolverhampton Crown Court on March 4 after earlier pleading guilty to two offences of causing death by dangerous driving.
However, the case was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Attorney General so it could look into whether the original sentence was 'unduly lenient'.
Nicholls, of Dudley, West Midlands, lost control of his car in Ettingshall, Wolverhampton, in April 2008. Mr Warmer and Mr Wright, both from Wolverhampton, died at the scene.
Lord Justice Thomas, sitting with Mr Justice Wilkie and Mrs Justice Gloster, said despite the fact Nicholls had never taken a driving test, he had previously driven because in January 2008 'he was disqualified from driving through excess alcohol'.
The judge said there had been a 'deliberate and flagrant' decision to flout the rules of the road.
Copyright © Press Association 2009
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