A ROAD safety charity has slammed the “lenient sentence” handed to Aidan McAteer saying it is an “insult to bereaved families” and that tougher sentences are needed for “drivers that kill”.

On Friday, May 19, McAteer and Dean Brennan appeared at Liverpool Crown Court, where they were sentenced for a combined total of 16 years for their part in the hit-and-run which led to the death of Violet-Grace Youens.

Many have criticised the length of the sentences for both men, with McAteer, 23, from Prescot, sentenced to nine years and four months for causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving to the four-year-old’s nan, Angela French.

He could be free on parole after four years and eight moths – half his sentence.

Brennan, 27, from Whiston, who was a passenger in the stolen vehicle, was jailed for six years and eight months for aggravated vehicle taking and assisting an offender.

A spokesman for Brake, the road safety charity, said: “This is a terrible case, and our thoughts are with the family of Violet-Grace Youens and Angela French.

“Lenient sentences like this are insult to bereaved families, especially as those who have committed this horrific crime will likely serve only half of their sentence.

“This case shows the inadequacy of our current criminal driving laws.

“Far too often, we see that grieving relatives are let down by our legal system. We need to see much tougher sentences for drivers who kill.

“We hope that the Department of Justice’s review will lead to bereaved families gaining the justice they deserve.

“We also urge any new government to invest seriously in traffic policing and make it a national priority, so police have the resources to catch and penalise dangerous drivers.”

The court heard the men had ran past the four-year-old, as she lay injured on the ground, to flee the scene.

The stolen Ford Fiesta, which had cloned number plates, began travelling at speeds of around 80mph in the busy 30mph area after passing a police car on a roundabout – although officers were not in pursuit.

The maximum sentence for causing death by dangerous driving is 14 years. In the case of McAteer his sentence was 12 years and six months but this was reduced because of his early guilty plea.

In a post following the sentencing, the little girl's dad Glenn Youens said: “Myself and Rebecca Lauren Youens have a life sentence, Violet-Grace has a life sentence.

“Whatever sentence served will never be enough for the pain and suffering caused by Aidan McAteer and Dean Brennan.

“Our pain and suffering is forever, irreversible. They did not care about anyone that day apart from themselves.

“Driving at such high speeds in a built-up area, full of children and families, it was inevitable someone would be killed, and sadly, they killed our beautiful baby girl.”

Many readers have criticised the sentencing of McAteer and Brennan – and asked why McAteer was not charged with manslaughter.

On Facebook, Anne Farrall said: "It's absolutely appalling. The law is a joke. They'll both be out and be able to drive again when their sentences have been served. That's diabolical on its own. Violet's family have the life sentence, surely it should be the other way around."

Adele Gee said: "Definitely should have been longer. Guilty plea or not, the maximum sentence for death by dangerous driving should be served and sentences should run consecutively, not concurrently."

The Crown Prosecution Service said they cannot comment on the individual sentencings but said the charges brought against the men were based on the evidence available.

CPS Mersey-Cheshire Senior Crown Prosecutor Richard Riley said: "The evidence in this case was thoroughly and carefully reviewed in line with the Code for Crown Prosecutors, which states that decisions about charges must be based on the evidence.

"It was decided that the evidence showed that the most appropriate charge was one of causing death by dangerous driving.

"This is an extremely serious offence that carries with it a substantial jail term."

Guidance from the CPS says the charge of unlawful act manslaughter can only be brought where there is evidence that a vehicle was used as "an instrument of attack or to cause fright", and death occurs as a result.

However, it does add that in cases where a death has occurred as a result of the manner of driving, and it is clear from the available evidence that the standard of driving has been grossly negligent on the part of the driver, a charge of gross negligence manslaughter will be the correct charge.

The guidance states:

"The prosecution must prove the following:

• The suspect owed the deceased a duty of care;

• The suspect was in breach of that duty;

• The suspect caused the death of the deceased;

• The driving fell far below the minimum acceptable standard of driving such that there was an obvious and serious risk of death; and

• The conduct of the suspect was so bad in all the circumstances as, in the opinion of the jury, to amount to a crime (R v Adomako [1993] 3 All ER 79).

"The ordinary principles of the law of negligence apply when considering whether there is such a duty. There is a general duty of care on all persons not to do acts imperilling the lives of others. This may mean that a "hit and run" driver might be guilty of manslaughter in certain circumstances.

"For instance, where a driver fails to stop or to report a collision where he or she knows or ought reasonably to have known that there is a risk of death if no medical assistance is provided to the person who has been hit, it could be argued that the deliberate failure to stop at the scene or report the incident may amount to manslaughter by omission. Consideration should be given to this in appropriate cases where there is clear evidence to satisfy all the above elements. See Wilkinson's Road Traffic Offences for further information.

"The examples of driving which fall far below the minimum acceptable standard of driving are also applicable here.

"Gross negligence manslaughter should not be charged unless there is something to set the case apart from those cases where a statutory offence such as causing death by dangerous driving or causing death by careless driving could be proved. This will normally be evidence to show a very high risk of death, making the case one of the utmost gravity. This is in contrast to the statutory offences where all that is required is evidence that the driving was dangerous and that the manner of driving caused the death of another person."