A Herriard man has been jailed after he crashed his modified BMW on the A32 near Droxford, causing the death of his girlfriend.

Liam Pusey, 23, of the A339 in Herriard, was sentenced to nine years in prison today (Friday) following the catastrophic collision on February 4, 2021.

Portsmouth Crown Court heard Pusey was driving north in his grey BMW 320D Sport with girlfriend Melissa Orsborn, aged 20 from Odiham, sat in the front passenger seat.

At around 7.55pm, after driving between 69mph and 85mph in a 50mph limit, Pusey lost control of his car and span into the path of a silver Volkswagen Golf travelling south.

Emergency crews attended and Miss Orsborn was cut out of the car and taken to Southampton General Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The driver of the Golf, 37-year-old Louisa Wray from Fareham, suffered a broken left wrist and broken right foot. She had surgery and spent two nights in hospital.

Pusey was found guilty following a trial of causing death by dangerous driving, causing death by driving a vehicle while uninsured and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

The court heard that Pusey had heavily modified his BMW and used it for drifting.

Jurors were told that Pusey had worn down his tyres through drifting so much that the construction cords were exposed on the inner edge of the front offside tyre.

A forensic examiner told the jury the BMW was in such a dangerous condition it should not have been driven on a public road.

PC Lucy Hawkins, of the Roads Policing Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: "Liam Pusey showed total disregard for the safety of his passenger and other road users by speeding in a dangerously unsafe vehicle.

"His recklessness has taken the life of one woman and put another in hospital. 

"I hope the result we got today makes other drivers think twice about their driving and the state of their vehicles."