A banned road menace who killed a young gardener i

A banned road menace who killed a young gardener in a hit-and-run smash has been jailed for two years by an Old Bailey judge.

Pest controller Stephen May, 19, has an appalling driving record but ignored successive court bans – even after the death crash.

Uninsured and without a full licence, May hit Mr Paul Hollingsworth, 28, at a minimum of 45mph in his uncle’s Ford Orion.

He then dumped the car and ran off, throwing away the keys.

After his arrest, May was caught for disqualified driving on the very day he was sentenced at Croydon Magistrates Court for other motoring offences.

Passing sentence, Judge Richard Hawkins, QC, said: ‘No length of sentence can ever reflect the loss of a human life, and I want to make that clear, or the anguish of those who have lost a loved one.

‘It was a straight road, you also totally failed to keep a proper look-out and you caused the death of this unfortunate victim.

‘The surrounding circumstances are serious.

You left the scene and that is a matter I must take into account.

‘You have a number of previous convictions for driving matters.

Had you shown responsibility and not driven until you obtained a licence, none of this would ever have happened.

‘You have subsequently been convicted of driving whilst disqualified, subsequent to this matter.

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The judge added: ‘It does show the lack of responsibility that you showed in driving at the time.

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Mr Hollingsworth was mowed down after travelling from his home in Archway, north London, to work in Ruskin Park, Camberwell, southeast London.

He crossed Denmark Hill to enter the park just after 7am on September 9 last year.

‘Mr May was driving his uncle’s car,’ said prosecutor Sean Larkin.

‘There was a collision.

He drove off after the collision and abandoned the car and he and all the passengers ran off.

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Two people driving up the hill who saw the body thought it was ‘a mannequin on the ground’ the court heard.

Mr Hollingsworth, of Pauntley Street, Archway, died in hospital on September 27 from head injuries and bronchial pneumonia contracted during an operation.

May claimed he had shouted at Mr Hollingsworth and sounded his horn.

But the jury found May guilty of causing death by dangerous driving.

May, of North Walk, New Addington, denied the charge.

He had admitted careless driving, failing to stop after an accident and driving without insurance.

The court heard he was put under a supervision order at Croydon Juvenile court on February 25, 1997 for riding in a stolen car.

On February 12, 1999, he was convicted of driving without insurance having a defective tyre and driving on a provisional licence.

He was fined and disqualified for three months but a month later on March 12 he was back at Croydon Juvenile Court for taking and driving away and was given a 12 month supervision order.

May was back behind the wheel on July 15 and was caught.

He was on bail for those offences when he mowed down the gardener.

When he appeared at Croydon Magistrates for the July matters he was disqualified for six months.

‘He drove that afternoon, the same afternoon the disqualification had been imposed,’ said Mr Larkin.

In addition to the jail sentence, May was banned from the road for another three years by the judge.

He will have to take an extended driving test before he is ever allowed to drive a car legally.

May fought back the tears as he was led to the cells.

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