Police warn drivers after fatal smash

LOTHIAN and Borders Police have issued a warning to young motorists over the dangers of speeding following the jailing of two teenagers involved in a fatal road crash.

Police chiefs said they wanted to avoid "similar tragedies" following the death of 17-year-old Richard Wilkinson, in a collision near Eckford in the Borders in April last year.

Sean Goodfellow and Murray McAllan, both 18, were travelling at speed when Goodfellow's Peugeot 306 GTI and McAllan's Mitsubishi Colt attempted a tight corner, resulting in the Peugeot colliding with a fence.

Goodfellow - whose car Mr Wilkinson was a passenger in - and McAllan were both sentenced to four-and-a-half years at the High Court in Edinburgh this week.

Inspector Fraser Jervis, from the force's road policing unit, said: "Driving at excessive speeds reduces the level of control you have over a vehicle and increases the likelihood of fatal or serious injury collisions.

"Motorists are responsible for the safety of those within their vehicle as well as other motorists and pedestrians."