A DANGEROUS driver who killed a young mother and seriously injured her child could receive a longer sentence following a review.

Stuart Levy, 36, was jailed for five years and four months on March 21 after admitting causing the death of Northallerton mum Shantelle Kirkup, as she crossed the road with her five-year-old son in Darlington last year.

Levy was not wearing his glasses as he ploughed into the pair on a pedestrian crossing.

Now his sentence is under consideration by the Solicitor General following a referral by a member of the public, under the 'Unduly Lenient Sentence' (ULS) scheme.

A spokeswoman for the Attorney General's office said: "Stuart Levy's case... is currently under consideration by the Solicitor General, who must establish whether it meets the high threshold required to refer to the Court of Appeal."

Referrals under the ULS scheme can be made by bereaved families, the Crown Prosecution Service, the police or by pressure groups and the public.

Levy was handed the 64-month sentence for killing Mrs Kirkup at Teesside Crown Court, and he also received a 30-month sentence for injuring her son, who suffered a broken leg, but the sentences will run concurrently.

He was also banned from driving for eight year after admitting the two charges.

The court was told last month how Shantelle's body shielded her son from the full force of being hit by the car.

Richard Bennett, prosecuting, told the court: "Shantelle had hold of his hand for his safety.

"That last act of care helped propel him out of the path of the vehicle, thereby probably saving his life."

The glasses that the defendant claimed he was wearing were later seized from his former partner's house and found to be damaged, showing that he had not worn them as he was driving along St Cuthbert's Way, when he hit the pair.

Mrs Kirkup, 29, was airlifted to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough after being struck by Levy's blue Ford Focus, but died from her injuries a few hours later.

The Recorder of Middlesbrough, Judge Simon Bourne-Arton QC, told Levy that his actions had devastated Mrs Kirkup’s loving family.

A police officer from Durham Police's Collision Investigation Unit later said it was one of the most devastating incidents she had had to deal with as a police officer.

Shantelle's husband of seven months, James Kirkup, described her as a 'natural mother' and said they had planned to have more children, but now he had to carry on without her.

Durham Police has been contacted for comment on the referral.