Judges cut death crash drive ban

DRIVING BAN CUT . . . Henry Barker

A SPEEDING motorist who mowed down and killed a schoolboy outside a mosque has failed to get his jail sentence cut at appeal but had his driving ban reduced by senior judges.

Henry Brandon Barker, 20, was jailed for seven years at Manchester Crown Court in August last year.

He was convicted of causing Shahzaib Hussain's death by dangerous driving and was also banned from driving for eight years.

Barker, of Hampton Road, Failsworth, struck down 11-year-old Shahzaib as he crossed Moss Street West, in Ashton-under-Lyne. The schoolboy had been attending afternoon prayers at the nearby Hamza Mosque with his dad.

Barker was hitting speeds of up to 45mph in a 20mph speed zone, Judge Anthony Morris QC told London's Appeal Court.

He was "swerving between parked cars" as he hurtled down the road with three passengers on board.

The judge who sentenced him said he may well have been showing off.

Barker failed to stop, "driving off at speed to escape" and executing a series of reckless manoeuvres. He finally handed himself in to police the next morning.

Barker's case reached the Appeal Court as he challenged both his sentence and the length of his driving ban.

Backing his seven-year jail term, Judge Morris noted the "massive impact of Shahzaib's death on his family and the community".

"This sentence was not manifestly excessive," concluded the judge, who was sitting with Lord Justice Hamblen and Mr Justice Gilbart.

However, the court ruled an eight-year driving ban might stand in the way of Barker's rehabilitation and reduced it to five years.