Death driver jail term criticised

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The parents of a teenage girl who was killed along with four others by a drink-driver said the jail term he was given "does not fit the crime".

Ben Morphey was told he would serve half of an eight-and-a-half year jail term and spend the rest on licence.

The 22-year-old from Yoxford, Suffolk, caused a head-on crash on the A12 in Blythburgh killing Carla Took, 18, her two teenage friends, and two others.

Carla's parents told reporters outside court that the sentence was inadequate.

He has given us a life sentence - he has taken my daughter Angela Took, victim's mother

David Took, 46, a quantity surveyor, said: "We were hoping this sentence would send out a message to the general public, but it doesn't fit the crime."

Ipswich Crown Court was told that medical experts believed Morphey had drunk nearly eight pints of lager on a night out with friends before getting behind the wheel.

He crashed into a car being driven by Carla's friend Claire Stoddart, 18.

Carla was returning home from a concert with a number of friends

The two teenagers, along with Claire's 15-year-old sister Jennifer, were killed.

Two passenger's in Morphey's car, Simon Bonner, 40, and Kim Abbott, 41, also died.

Morphey, a soldier based at Wattisham Airfield in Suffolk, pleaded guilty to five counts of causing death by careless driving whilst unfit.

Carla's mother Angela, 49, a nurse, said: "The thing I don't understand is the judge sits there and says he has got eight-and-a-half years and he will only serve four of them.

"He has given us a life sentence. He has taken my daughter. We will have to live with that for the rest of our lives."

'Worst nightmare'

The teenagers had been returning home to Lowestoft from a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert at Portman Road, Ipswich in July last year.

Also in the car were Sarah Mitchell, who suffered serious injuries, and Adam Cox, who was not badly hurt.

Jennifer Stoddart, left, and her sister Claire were killed

Simon Spence, prosecuting, said Morphey told police the alcohol he had consumed would have had "very little effect on his driving and would not really dull his reaction times".

Defence lawyer John Madden said Morphey had made "a serious error of judgment" and what had happened was "everybody's worst nightmare".

He said Morphey pleaded guilty on the basis he had had a "momentary lapse" in concentration while driving at between 50 and 55mph.

The parents of Claire and Jennifer said in June that they forgave Morphey saying he had not set out to kill anybody and had to live with the "horrendous" consequences.

Judge Neil McKittrik gave Morphey credit for his guilty plea, but said he had made a "gross error of judgment" and a jail sentence was the only possible outcome.

Morphey was also disqualified from driving for 10 years.