Death crash coach pair jailed

THE FAMILY of a couple killed when a coach smashed into their car have welcomed the jail sentences handed to the coach driver and his business partner but added: "It won't bring them back."

Patricia Clements, whose son Paul and daughter-in-law Deborah, died in the smash at Staxton Hill in Scarborough last year, added: "Paul and Debbie were brilliant parents to Cameron and a fantastic son and daughter-in-law to me and my husband Brian.

"They went out of their way for everyone."

Coach driver Robert Oughton (53) and his brother-in-law and business partner, John Lote (61) have both been jailed for manslaughter after they failed to fix the brakes on a vehicle that crashed into the Clements' car.

Both men admitted manslaughter, while Oughton also pleaded guilty to causing the deaths of Paul and Deborah Clements by dangerous driving.

Leeds Crown Court heard that the defendants, of Burntwood, Staffordshire, failed to maintain the coach in a roadworthy condition and failed tocorrect problems with the brakes that had been noticed seven months earlier.

Oughton, who was driving a childrens' marching band to the North Yorkshire

coast for a competition when the coach smashed into the Clements' car, bowed his head as he was sentenced to five years and three months for death by dangerous driving and 30 months for manslaughter, with the sentences to run concurrently.

Lote was sentenced to three years for manslaughter.

Passing sentence at Leeds Crown Court last Friday, the Recorder of

Leeds, Peter Collier QC, told Oughton: "You were driving a poorly-maintained vehicle.

"You continued to drive despite queries being made about a burning

smell."

Addressing both defendants, he said: "This vehicle should not have been on

the road and I am satisfied you each knew that."

The tragic crash, which happened on September 21 last year at Staxton Hill, near Scarborough, killed Paul (40) and Deborah (39), who were returning to the home in New Meadows, Upper Haugh, they shared with their 17-year-old son Cameron after a trip to the coast.