THE Prime Minister is being asked to help a campaign for harsher sentences for killer drivers.

Tony Blair will be lobbied by the parents of crash victim Callum Taylor after the man who killed the eight-month-old was jailed last week.

Callum's parents, Brian and Katrina, will write to Mr Blair demanding a change in the law, with a new offence of manslaughter by driving.

Paul Lee, 25, was jailed for eight years at Teesside Crown Court on Friday after he admitted causing Callum's death by dangerous driving.

The maximum sentence he could have received is ten years, but because of his guilty plea, the term imposed by Judge George Moorhouse was the maximum possible.

Mrs Taylor, 29, of Killen Road, Darlington, said: "Lee should be jailed for life for killing my little boy.

"I know he did not do it intentionally, and I know he is sorry, but he has been disqualified for dangerous driving in the past."

The court heard last week how Lee, who had a string of motoring convictions, drove into the Taylor family as they were out walking in West Cornforth, County Durham, two days after Christmas.

Lee's car was on cruise control at 60mph through a 30mph zone, and he "flew" over a bump on to the footpath, where his car collided with a tandem pushchair carrying Callum and his sister, Lottie, 21 months.

Callum died four days later of serious head injuries.

Mrs Taylor said the family had been reasonably satisfied with Lee's sentence, but only because they had expected him to get between four and six years.

Mr Taylor, 29, said: "Since Lee pleaded guilty, he had a fifth of his sentence automatically taken off.

"The judge's hands were tied, and it is the law which needs to be changed."