A CROWN Court judge has praised the dignity of a Herefordshire family whose teenage son was killed by dangerous "show off" driving by his best friend in a customised car.

At Hereford Crown Court, His Honour Judge Hooper QC said that behaviour of the Fletcher family, from The Langlands, Ledbury, had been a "beacon shining over terrible tragedy".

The court heard that the Fletchers bore no animosity over the crash, despite their struggle to cope with its life-altering aftermath, which was outlined to the court in victim impact statements.

Colin Fletcher, aged 17, died hours after David Mason lost control of the customised Vauxhall Nova they were travelling in at high speed on the A438 near Eastnor in July last year.

Mason, from Hanley Swan, Worcestershire, admitted causing death by dangerous driving and was sentenced to two years youth custody.

The court heard that the 18-year-old would have to live with what he had done for the rest of his life. He had held a driving licence for only five months.

Passing sentence, Judge Hooper said "showing off" played a part in Mason's driving on the day. He hoped the case would be a deterrent to the "public menace" of teenage drivers using cars they were too inexperienced to control.

Colin Fletcher was a front seat passenger in the Nova that Mason had bought for £450 a month before the crash.

Mason, the court heard, was a young man "impatient to drive" who would even go out unsupervised before he passed his test, much to the frustration of his instructor.

Nick Cartwright, prosecuting, said the Nova was in a bad way when sold. Insured by Mason's mother with her son as a named driver, the car had been heavily converted with lowered suspension and bigger wheels so that the tyres rubbed up against the wheel arches, making a distinctive noise. The changes meant the speedometer gave inaccurate readings - a fault that the court heard Mason was aware of.

Mr Cartwright said that, on the day of the crash, Mason had been seen "cruising" around Ledbury in the Nova with the stereo on loud. Witnesses later saw him playing catch-up at speed with a friend's Vauxhall Corsa on a rural road before making a risky overtaking manoeuvre.

Later, with Colin Fletcher in the front and another friend, Lee Davies, in the back, Mason took the Nova for a high speed drive towards Eastnor. The car clipped a verge to veer out of control while taking a right hand bend doing at least 70mph, then, destabilised by its defective suspension, it rolled six or seven times before coming to rest, said Mr Cartwright.

Mason and Lee Davies were able to scramble free. Mason then got a badly injured and unconscious Colin Fletcher out of the car, staying with him until emergency services arrived.

Colin Fletcher was flown by air ambulance to Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham, where he died, just after his parents arrived.

Mr Cartwright read victim impact statements from the Fletcher family. Mum Donna Fletcher said their lives had changed beyond recognition. She found it "difficult to be in the house" when Colin wasn't.

Dad Glyn spoke of now having two separate identities, one before the crash, the other after. His mind, he said, seldom strayed from his son.

Liz De'Oliveira, defending, said that the Fletchers bore no animosity over the crash.

Mason had bought a car - with an MOT - that looked good to the eye of a teenage boy. The subsequent combination of speed, defects and inexperience behind the wheel had catastrophic consequences for everybody involved, she said.

Mason was also banned from driving for two years, after which he will have to pass an extended driving test to get back on the road again.