Violet's parents discuss sentence increase of driver who killed mum

Four-year-old Violet-Grace Youens from Eccleston, died in March 2017 after she was hit by a speeding car on Prescot Road, St Helens.

The driver of that vehicle, Aidan McAteer, was sentenced to nine years and four months for causing death by dangerous driving.

He was released last year.

In light of his sentence, Violet’s parents Glenn and Becky Youens launched an online petition calling for the maximum penalty for causing death by dangerous driving to be increased from 15 years to life.

The petition garnered 167,000 signatures and a parliamentary debate.

This resulted in the law change that came into force in June 2022.

In cases where the incident has occurred after that date judges can now take the new sentencing guidelines into consideration when delivering sentences.

However, in the case of pregnant Frankie Jules-Hough and her unborn child, who were killed by a driver going at a speed of 123mph on a motorway in Bury, the sentence for the driver was just 12 years.

Adil Iqbal was originally sentenced to 12 years behind bars but campaigners argued this was not long enough and today appeal judges have extended his sentence by three years to a total of 15 years in prison.

The case, reported on extensively by our sister title The Bolton News, saw Iqbal, 22, of Hope Street, Accrington, pleading guilty to the charges after also causing serious injuries to Frankie's nine-year-old son, Thomas and her four-year-old nephew, Tobias.

Reflecting on the increase in sentence, Glenn and Becky Youens said: “Obviously it’s great news that there is a sentencing increase, but it is horrendous that Frankie’s family have had to go through this all again to get closer to justice.

“Ultimately the driver will serve two-thirds of this sentence, so 10 years in total. Much better than the four years the driver who hit Violet got.

“Violet-Grace’s Law is meant to be there as a deterrent to dangerous drivers, but it isn’t a deterrent unless judges use these in the first place and give tougher sentences.

“Frankie’s family is grieving and has had to go through this all again, it’s not right. Those boys in the car will be in their teens when this driver gets out.

“This driver had prior convictions in relation to driving, he was filming himself driving at 123mph and his actions claimed the life of a mum and her unborn baby.

“The judge could have used these new sentencing guidelines to full advantage but didn’t.

“The increase in sentence is brilliant news, but ultimately it's on judges to make sure higher sentences are given in cases such as this one. It's a step forward but not good enough."