A MAN who caused the death of a teenager while showing off his car has been sentenced to nine years and nine months in prison.

Scott Watkins, 25, lost control of the BMW he was driving at a “spontaneous, unauthorised meet-up” in Trafford at around 9.50pm, on May 31.

Watkins was trying to 'drift' the vehicle around a roundabout on Europa Way, Trafford Park but he veered off-course and “ploughed” into pedestrians.

Seven people were taken to hospital with injuries, including 19-year-old Sophie Louise Smith, from Radcliffe, who died the following day.

MISSED: Sophie Louise Smith, aged 19, who died in the collision at Trafford Park MISSED: Sophie Louise Smith, aged 19, who died in the collision at Trafford Park

Following the incident, Mr Watkins drove away from the scene, and was briefly pursued by another driver.

It was later revealed to police that he was driving someone else’s car and was uninsured and had a revoked driving license.

In his opening, prosecutor Rob Hall said: “Mr Watkins drove a BMW 330 motor car on Europa Way, Trafford dangerously and while uninsured and without a driver’s licence.

“Mr Watkins lost control of the vehicle, mounted the pavement and collided with a group of observers, resulting in the death of Sophie Smith, 19, and the serious injury of others.”

Sophie Louise Smith with boyfriend Jordan Chidgey Sophie Louise Smith with boyfriend Jordan Chidgey

Watkins had lost his driving license, which he had been awarded after passing his test in 2016, after a series of offences, including driving with no insurance.

Mr Hall explained that the area of road on Europa Way chosen for the meet-up included a 500-metre section – on which the speed limit was 30mph – which drivers used to drive “continuously back and forth” between a pair of roundabouts.

Some of the drivers reached a high-speed and used the handbrake in their cars to “drift”, meaning the vehicles skidded sideways around the roundabouts and came out in the opposite direction to the one they had entered from.

Mr Hall also read out a statement from Mr Patel, the husband of Sophie Smith’s mother Sue.

Mr Patel has been with his partner since Sophie was two years old and said he felt like “she was my daughter”.

He said: “Our lives will never be the same again, and I can’t put into words how I feel.”

Adding: “When I think about the driver and what happened, it makes me angry, Sue is also angry.

"When he is released from custody his family will be able to walk him home, we will never get to see Sophie again.”

More to follow.