Six-year jail term for Totton driver Luke Bates will not be increased

THE six-year sentence handed to a Totton man who fled the scene of a crash which killed a mum-of-three will not be increased.

A complaint had been made to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) that the sentence given to Luke Bates (34) was "unduly lenient", leading to a review of the case.

As reported in the A&T Bates, of Mansergh Walk, was jailed over the crash which caused the death of Kim Bainbridge, who was a passenger in his car.

The AGO has the power to put it back before senior High Court judges and argue for a re-sentence - however, in this case it had declined to do that after "careful consideration", a AGO spokesperson said.

"The Solicitor General was saddened by this case and wishes to express her sympathies to the family of Kim Bainbridge," he said.

"A referral under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme to the Court of Appeal can only be made if a sentence is not just lenient but unduly so, such that the sentencing judge made a gross error or imposed a sentence outside the range of sentences reasonably available in the circumstances of the offence.

"The threshold is a high one, and the test was not met in this case."

The single-vehicle incident at Mountbatten Way, Southampton, took place on 30th June 2019.

In court, Bates admitted causing death by careless driving while over the drug limit, as well as failing to stop after an accident and driving without insurance.

He was also banned from driving for seven years.

Ms Bainbridge was 51 and from Buckthorn Close in Totton.

After her death, Kim’s grieving relatives said: "Three boys have been left absolutely heartbroken following the tragic loss of their mother, and her friends have been left distraught.

"Kim will always be remembered in the hearts of us all. She had a huge influence on many lives and she was a happy-go-lucky person, always cheering everyone up.

"She lived her life to the full and had nothing but love, kindness and humour in her heart and soul."