A CAMPAIGN to secure longer jail sentences for killer drivers - backed by the mother of a teenager killed in a car crash - has been given a boost.

Home Secretary David Blunkett has announced a review that could lead to motorists guilty of death by dangerous driving being charged with manslaughter.

The move would give judges a free rein to jail the worst offenders for much longer than the current maximum sentence of 10 years.

The announcement follows pressure from South Swindon MP Julia Drown and other MPs to stop killer drivers escaping with lighter sentences.

Last month, former Walcot councillor Vicky Byrne, who lost her 14-year-old daughter Michelle in a car crash in October 1996, threw her weight behind the MPs' campaign.

Michelle died when the car she was travelling in smashed into a tree in Broome Manor Lane in October 1996. The driver, Jamie Baker, 20, admitted causing death by dangerous driving having drunk more than the legal alcohol limit. He was sentenced to 12 months at a young offenders' institute and released within six.

Mrs Byrne, said: "It's all very well imposing longer sentences, but the Government should impose a minimum sentence. Why impose something when they never ever use it?

"It seems the courts don't use the powers given to them by Parliament. I agree that these people should be charged with manslaughter because at the moment the law is weighted towards the perpetrators of crime."

Former St Joseph's School pupil Michelle would have been celebrating her 21st birthday next month.

Ms Drown has called for drivers high on drink or drugs, those driving without a licence and repeat offenders not to get behind a wheel again. "I'm pleased the Home Secretary has acknowledged the pressure coming through from MPs that more should be done on this issue," she said.

"My constituents want to see people properly punished for the horror they inflict on road accident victims and manslaughter should certainly be considered."

The review was announced as MPs voted to raise the maximum punishment for death by dangerous driving to 14 years, under laws to be enforced this summer.

But the vote an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill, at the heart of the Government's pledge to "rebalance justice in favour of the victim" does not go far enough for some MPs who have urged the Government to toughen up jail terms.