COURT CASE: NEWLY-QUALIFIED driver Nicholas Wilkerson had been caught speeding months before he was involved in a crash in which teenager Charlotte Parsons was killed, a court heard.

Charlotte, 15, of Tiddlywink, Yatton Keynell, died on May 17 when Wilkerson's Vauxhall Astra in which she was travelling was in a head-on collision, about a quarter of a mile from her home.

On Monday 18-year-old Wilkerson, of Elizabeth Place, Pewsham, appeared before North Wiltshire Magistrates in Chippenham and admitted careless driving.

He was fined £500 with £55 costs, banned from driving for a year and ordered to retake his test.

The court heard that Wilkerson, who was 17 at the time of the accident, had recently passed his test and had been caught speeding in March.

Simon Massey, prosecuting, said Wilkerson picked up Charlotte and friend Richard Payne, 18, from Yatton Keynell.

He said Wilkerson appeared to lose control of the Astra as it rounded a bend on the B4039, and the car moved across the road, hitting a Fiat Uno and careering into a field where it turned over.

Mr Massey said Fiat driver Helen Woodgate, from Chippenham, remembered the Astra coming towards her at some considerable speed, and said it could have been travelling at 70mph.

Motorist Nicola Hart, who was driving behind Miss Woodgate's Punto, said she also saw the Astra speeding. "I have never seen another car moving so fast on that stretch of road," said Miss Hart.

In a police interview Wilkerson said the back end of his car seemed to come out and he could not get it under control.

"He told police it was swerving and went to one side and then to the opposite side of the road, there was a hedge and he did not know what was happening," said Mr Massey.

Michael Jeary, defending, said Mr Payne, who suffered internal injuries in the crash, had travelled with Wilkerson many times before and never had cause for concern over his driving.

"He (Mr Payne) had no qualms about getting into that car and he recalls turning round and talking to Charlotte."

Mr Jeary said it was an accident that Wilkerson would play back time and time again and would change if he could.

"It seems to me this was a young man who had recently passed his test and misjudged the corner and couldn't control the car," said Mr Jeary.

"He regrets what happened and it's something he will have to live with for a very long time."

After hearing the verdict, Charlotte's parents Julian and Francesca said they were relieved Wilkerson had been banned from driving, but would be campaigning for a change in the law.

Mr Parsons, the station officer at Chippenham fire station, said: "Something needs to be done about the law to deal with offenders and it has to stop kids screaming round in cars.

"There should be a charge somewhere along the lines of causing death by careless driving or causing death while driving without due care and attention.

"At the moment it seems that sentencing is too light for the severity of the crime. There needs to be some sort of charge that covers greater sentencing powers for the courts."

They also want the driving age raised to 19 and a restriction on newly-qualified drivers from carrying passengers for a period of time.

Mrs Parsons, who works at Sainsbury's Homebase in Chippenham, said the driving disqualification made the verdict a little more tolerable. But she added: "We know we will never get what we want, which is to have Charlie back."