A MAN who killed his son with an "ill-considered, rash and dangerous" driving manoeuvre has been spared jail.

Paul Marshall, 56, was told by a judge: "The punishment you have is the tragedy of causing the death of your own son. No court can impose any greater punishment than that."

Marshall was towing a car containing his 25-year-old son Scott and his girlfriend, Lisa Tattersfield, when he carried out a U-turn across the A19 dual carriageway near Hartlepool on a Sunday afternoon last summer.

A car heading in the same direction ploughed into the passenger side of Miss Tattersfield's Ford Escort and left Mr Marshall with fatal multiple injuries.

Teesside Crown Court was told yesterday that the rope between the two cars was nearly twice as long as recommended and left the broken-down hatchback stranded in the outside lane of the northbound carriageway.

Prosecutor Tim Stead said a Citroen ZX driven by Philip Knox was given no time to avoid a collision.

Miss Tattersfield was returning home from visiting her boyfriend in Sunderland when her car broke down on the southbound carriageway, near Hartlepool, on July 20.

She called Mr Marshall and he and his father agreed to see if they could repair the car. When it couldn't be fixed, they decided to tow it to a roundabout a few miles south and double back.

Instead, Marshall turned into the central reservation and waited before pulling out, but as he reached the inside lane the Escort was left in the outside lane as other traffic approached.

Defence barrister Caroline Goodwin said: "It is something with which he will have to live for the remainder of his life. To carry the burden, not only of the loss of his son, but also seeing the utter devastation it has caused his son's mother, his family and all those who know him.

"He is an individual thoroughly crushed by these events."

Miss Goodwin said Marshall, of Bexhill Square, Sunderland, a man with impeccable character, would never drive or appear in a court again.

He admitted causing death by dangerous driving and was given a 12-month prison sentence suspended for a year. He was also banned from driving for three years.

Judge Les Spittle told him: "It seems to me that this is a wholly exceptional case and although the nature of the offence has to be marked by a custodial sentence, it is one in which, in all the circumstances, this court can show mercy.

"You must go from this court together with your family and rebuild your life."