A DANGER driver who killed a mother and seriously injured her young child will not be given a longer sentence.

Stuart Levy ploughed into 29-year-old Shantelle Kirkup on a pedestrian crossing in Darlington, killing her and seriously injuring her five-year-old son, last year.

A member of the public had asked for his sentence for causing death by dangerous driving to be increased from the five years and four months he was sentenced to, under the unduly lenient sentence scheme.

But a spokeswoman for the Attorney General's Office said: "After careful consideration the Solicitor General has concluded that he could not refer this case to the Court of Appeal."

She said the referral could only be made if the sentencing judge made an error: "The threshold is a high one, and the test was not met in this case."

Mrs Kirkup, from Northallerton, died after being airlifted to hospital following the incident on St Cuthbert's Way in Darlington. Her son was treated for a broken leg.

Levy, 36, was not wearing his glasses while driving and witnesses said he did not slow down at all as he approached the crossing.