A hit and run driver downed 10 pints of lager before getting behind the wheel and mowing down a woman, leaving her for dead. Liam Bowes, 37, kept on going after the VW Golf he was driving collided with Abigail Eggleston, 22, at Neville's Cross, Durham, in the early hours of October 26 last year as he raced through red lights at 56mph in 40mph zone.

The mechanic, from Kelloe, Co. Durham, tried to destroy evidence by torching the car that he had borrowed from a pal and for which he had no insurance. He was jailed at Teesside Crown Court on Monday (March 2) after admitting causing the Durham University student's death by dangerous driving and perverting the course of justice by trying to burn out the car.

He was also sentenced for failing to stop at the scene of an accident and driving without insurance.

Judge Francis Laird KC, jailing him for 12 years, said his wilful decision to drive while highly intoxicated "resulted in the loss of a precious life".

Abigail's mother Mandy said in a victim impact statement: "It is utterly devastating to know I will never be able to see, hear, hug or talk to her again. I feel as though I am falling through a black hole with no chance of landing."

She added: "Know that I feel fully justified and at ease in never being able to forgive you for what you have done to my daughter, myself and the rest of my family."

Mrs Eggleston said: "She was only 22 and had such an exciting future planned for herself, her prospects were so good.

"All her hopes and dreams have been brutally and abruptly ended by you selfishly and irresponsibly deeming your own personal night of enjoyment and selfish reckless fun your only priority.

"We will never get to see her achieve her goals or witness her future life experiences. I had already bought my outfit in anticipation of her graduation which will no longer happen."

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Her father, Andy Eggleston, said in his victim statement: "Her injuries were so significant it meant that I never got the chance to hold her hand or say goodbye in person.

"The cruelty of that reality is compounded by the fact the only goodbye I was permitted was in the silence of the chapel of rest.

"As a father you dream of the day you see your daughter in her wedding dress a moment of ultimate pride. To have that joy replaced by the trauma of a funeral is a theft that I will never recover from."

Dr Christopher Wood, prosecuting, said Bowes had been at a friend's birthday party in Langley Park where CCTV from the working men's club showed him drinking "eight to 10 pints" of beer, as well as shots.

The images show him unsteady on his feet and behaving erratically.

He left at around 1.30am and was driving through Neville's Cross where Ms Eggleston was heading home after a night out and was close to her student digs.

She waited for the crossing light to turn green, despite traffic being light that night, and should have been safe to cross when she was knocked down, the court heard.

A taxi driver waiting to turn at the junction later told police the VW Golf driver did not brake as he went through the red light and hit the student.

Nor did Bowes stop at the scene, leaving her fatally injured in the road. Other road-users that night stopped to help and blocked the road to prevent her from being injured further.

She died in hospital from catastrophic head injuries.

Dr Wood said Bowes was consistently driving between 10 and 20mph over the limit that night and covered the 14-mile journey home in under 17 minutes when it should have taken approximately 25 minutes if had not been speeding.

Police analysed the car's on-board computer later and found he was going at 56mph through the lights, the court heard.

After the collision, he drove home and then tried to set fire to the car. He then lay low in a caravan, asking a friend later in the day if he wanted to share a pizza as Bowes said he was "starving".

Dr Wood said Bowes was arrested and later told police he "panicked" after the collision.

Christopher Morrison, defending, read out a letter from Bowes in which he said: "I take full responsibility for the accident and there are no excuses for my actions.

"I understand that my actions have changed lives forever and I will rightly so carry this burden with me for the rest of my life."

The court heard Bowes was the "mainstay" for his mother, who has mobility problems.

Judge Laird said Ms Eggleston was an "all-rounder" who had interests in martial arts, singing and cookery.

He said: "Those who knew her have described her as an intelligent, hard-working and sensitive young woman. She was destined to do well in her studies and had a promising and fulfilling career in law ahead of her.

"In short, she was full of life, she was the daughter every parent would want and the sister every sibling would be fortunate to have. Sadly all that was taken away on the 25th and into the 26th October last year."

Durham Constabulary said three other people – two men aged 38 and a woman, 59 – were also arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. They were released on bail while further enquiries are carried out.