A Shadoxhurst man who crashed into a teenage moped rider and left her to be run over by a minibus has been jailed for six years.

Brian Hampton, 58, of Hornash Lane, smashed into the back of 16-year-old trainee hairdresser Jade Clark with his Volvo XC90, knocking her from her vehicle.

The health and safety executive - who was serving a ban for drink-driving - then swerved around the teenager as she lay in the road and drove away, leaving her to be run over by an on-coming minibus.

Jade suffered major head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, on the A31 in Dorset on Sunday, February 24.

Her moped was left fragmented into hundreds of pieces across the road.

The court heard that following the crash, Hampton lied to his wife Maureen that his car had broken down.

Earlier in the trial she said she had no knowledge of his 26-month driving ban, which was given to him for drink driving in June 2012.

He spent the night at a Premier Inn and was seen on CCTV inspected the damage to the front grill of his Volvo and struggling to get the bonnet open.

Hampton subsequently drove back to Kent avoiding the motorways and checked into the Holiday Inn in Canterbury Road, Kennington for two nights.

On Wednesday, February 27, three days after the accident, Hampton took the car to MC Motors garage on Ellingham Industrial Estate where he told staff he had hit a deer in the Kings Wood area at Challock.

The court heard that mechanics were suspicious that there was no evidence of blood or fur on the front of the car.

Hampton paid £4,316 for the works which included the bonnet, bumper, grill assembly and radiator being replaced.

After a major investigation, Hampton was arrested in Shadoxhurst on Thursday, March 21.

He admitted causing death by careless driving and driving while banned and without insurance in June, but denied attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Hampton was found guilty at Bournemouth Crown Court yesterday following a three-day trial.

He was sentenced to two years' imprisonment for causing death by careless driving and four years for attempting to pervert the course of justice to run consecutively.

Hampton was also banned from driving for seven years.

Insp Matt Butler, from Dorset Police, said: "This conviction follows the largest operation of its type ever carried out by Dorset Police – with officers from around the south coast searching over 1,000 vehicles as they worked to find the person responsible for Jade's death.

"The courage and dignity displayed by Jade's family throughout this terribly tragic time in their lives has been enormous and I am hopeful that Brian Hampton's conviction will begin to give them some closure.

"I would also like the public's remarkable response to the police investigation to be acknowledged. Businesses offered rewards, young people worked to raise awareness in car parks and of course, hundreds of people called the Force with information.

"All of this played a big part in tracing the vehicle that we were looking for."

Jade, from Ringwood, Hampshire, suffered a severe head injury in the smash.

At the time of her death, Jade's family described her as a "loving girl".

Her mother Sharon Clark said: "From the moment we were given this awful news, the family have been devastated.

"Jade was such a loving girl. Losing her has left a hole in our hearts and our lives that we will never fill.

"She was a wonderful daughter; step-daughter; sister; grand-daughter and friend.

"So many people have said so many nice things about Jade and I'd like to say thank you to all of them for their kindness.

"To lose Jade the way we did is what's hardest to bear. For a driver to cause Jade's accident and then drive away, leaving her alone in the road, is almost too difficult to believe."