Motorist who dangerously overtook a lorry then crashed head-on into a Mini, killing its two occupants, has been jailed for five years

A DRIVER who dangerously overtook a lorry before crashing head-on into a Mini, killing its driver and passenger, has been jailed for five years.

Mitchell Butler-Eldridge, 28, was driving a Volkswagen Passat on the A10 near Littleport, Cambridgeshire, when he lost control and hit 24-year-old Tim Wildbore's car - who was on his way to work with friend and colleague Andrew Thornewell, 28.

Witnesses described a vehicle overtaking a stream of cars and lorries along a five-mile stretch of the A10 near Littleport, Cambridgeshire - where the speed limit is 60mph.

Prosecutor Sally Hobson told Cambridge Crown Court that one witness described the driver as having a "death wish", while another said the motorist was a "bit of a lunatic".

Meanwhile, one driver said he and an oncoming motorist were forced to take avoiding action to prevent a crash with the overtaking vehicle in an earlier incident.

The court heard the Mini was being driven "entirely safely" at around 40mph - with the Passat travelling at speeds of up to 80mph.

Both men in the Mini died at the scene just before 7am on February 18, 2015.

Butler-Eldridge was taken to hospital after the crash - with one witness saying he was "too angry to go to the help the defendant" at the scene.

Ms Hobson said: "The crown says this defendant was driving dangerously and doing so for a prolonged period of time and gave no or very little consideration to other road users.

"In doing so, he killed two blameless young men."

Andrew Thornewell was engaged to marry fiancee Emma Shackleton in May 2015 - who described the day he was killed as a "blur of tears" that she would never forget.

The primary school teacher, whose birthday was three days after the crash, said her "life and world around me was destroyed".

Meanwhile, his father Paul Thornewell read a statement written by his wife which said the family were "paralysed with grief".

He said the family still have their wedding invitation pinned to the kitchen noticeboard to remind them of "what should have been".

He added they regarded Butler-Eldridge as a "mindless idiot" - and they had no forgiveness for him.

He said: "He was more intent on getting from A to B and was taking any risks.

"His poor decision has had a catastrophic effect on me.

"I'm still consumed by anger as the road traffic collision was totally avoidable."

Butler-Eldridge, of King's Lynn, admitted two counts of causing death by dangerous driving at an earlier hearing.

When asked to give an account of what happened, he said he drove round a corner and everything went black.

Ian Bridge, mitigating, said Butler-Eldridge was normally a "careful driver" who had never come to the attention of the police, and a letter read in court said: "From the deepest depths of my heart I'm truly sorry for being the cause of this accident."

Judge Jonathan Haworth said there was no way any sentence could compensate for the loss of the families.

He said: "I've no doubt this was a continuous course of overtaking at speed.

"You found yourself on the outside of an articulated lorry on a comparatively narrow road no doubt hard to the pedal trying to get past the lorry, and it's in those circumstance that when you pulled in you lost control."

He sentenced Butler-Eldridge to five years in prison and disqualified him from driving for five years, with the ban to start when he is released from prison.