A NOVICE driver who killed his best friend in a pile-up has today (Friday, September 4) been jailed for three-and-a-half years for his "gross dangerousness".

Joshua Butters, 20, had passed his test just nine weeks before he caused a three-vehicle tea-time tragedy on February 7 last year.

Butters had only had his Vauxhall Corsa for a month or so and blamed mechanical defects - rather than his driving - for the crash.

Back-seat passenger Jordan Dowson, 19, from Guisborough, was killed instantly when the car overturned on the A174 Brotton bypass in east Cleveland.

Butters had picked up his girlfriend and his best pal after finishing work on the Friday afternoon, Teesside Crown Court was told.

The apprentice electrician claimed the steering and brakes failed on his hatchback and he could do nothing to avoid the collision.

The car collided head-on with a Volkswagen Scirocco and an Audi A4 before spinning, overturning and landing on its roof off the road.

His girlfriend Ashley East - badly injured in an accident two years earlier - suffered fractures to her pelvis, a rib and collarbone.

Butters, of Atholl Grove, Redcar, wept in the dock as the court heard an impact statement written by Jordan's mother, Tania Lofthouse.

She said: "What happened that evening was truly devastating to me and my family. Words cannot describe how wonderful Jordan was."

"He was young and had so many years ahead of him . . . the feelings of loss and despair are so great. I now have a hole in my life."

The mum-of-ten added: "I believed in time, feelings would improve, but the longer I go without seeing Jordan the worse the pain gets."

Judge Simon Bourne-Arton, QC, told Butters: "This was a momentary piece of bad driving, albeit with catastrophic consequences.

"You do not accept you are responsible for the death of your friend. You remain in denial of that. The jury was sure you were.

"You continue to show tears of regret for the loss of your friend while maintaining that the death had nothing to do with you.

"Your attitude reflects badly upon you. You continue to maintain, in the face of overwhelming evidence, that your car had defects."

Nick Adlington, mitigating, said Butters - who was also banned from the roads for five years - will carry guilt for the rest of his life.

"It is quite clear that there is remorse. There has always been remorse in that fact that he was at the wheel of the car responsible.

"He knows he can never be forgiven. Even if it had been a defect, he would still have been the driver of the car that evening.

"The defendant has lost his best friend. He has also lost the love of the deceased's family. He knows he will never be forgiven."

Butters denied a charge of causing death by dangerous driving, but was convicted by a jury after a three-day trial last month.

Senior Investigating officer PC Neil Foster said: “No sentence can compensate Jordan’s family and friends for their loss and my thoughts remain with them at this difficult time, however, I do hope that the sentence passed today can offer them some comfort and hope that it can help them move forward with their lives.

“The tragic loss of Jordan’s life could have been so easily avoided. This case highlights that any driver should not reduce the standards of their driving once they have passed their test.

"Josh Butters will not only have to serve a prison sentence, but causing the collision that killed his friend is something that he will have to live with for the rest of his life.”