A trainee farmer today started three-and-a-half years in jail for killing his best friend in a drink-drive accident.

The family of victim James Frederick Heath, 19, were reluctant for Mark Alan Tyson, 20, to be prosecuted because they felt their son was as much to blame for what happened as he was, said Jeremy Hill-Baker, prosecuting.

But outside York Crown Court John Heath revealed that his son's death had "finished" them as a farming family because he was their only son.

Tyson, of Snainton, near Scarborough, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving while over the alcohol limit.

"No sentence can bring him (Mr Heath) back and his family will certainly live forever with the consequences of your crime," Judge Alan Goldsack, QC, told Tyson.

"It is a measure of their character that they are able to accept what you did with such compassion. But you know a substantial custodial sentence must follow to reflect Parliament's and the public view of such offences."

The judge accepted that Tyson was full of remorse and that it was unlikely he would re-offend.

Jeremy Hill-Baker, prosecuting, said the two men were both 19 when on Saturday, September 11, they went out drinking in Snainton and Scarborough.

They returned to Snainton, where Tyson had left his car in the car park at the Peacock Inn.

The pair had intended to go by taxi all the way home, but the taxi driver thought he was being wound up by boisterous behaviour and left them at the pub.

Tyson was then persuaded by Mr Heath to drive home down a narrow country lane.

Investigations after the crash revealed that he was driving at 78mph when he lost control on a bend and crashed into a tree.

He then walked to a nearby house to call the emergency services, saying "I have killed my mate."

A blood test revealed he was one- and-a-half times the alcohol limit.

"It is right to say that the deceased's father has been in contact with the Crown Prosecution Service and he has no animosity or anger towards the defendant. The deceased enjoyed his drink as much as the defendant," said Mr Hill-Baker.

Mr Heath had got into the car knowing Tyson had had too much to drink and in this respect he was as responsible for what happened as the driver, said Mr Hill-Baker. For Tyson, Taryn Turner said he fully accepted his responsibility, and he had lost his best friend.

The judge banned Tyson from driving for three years.

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