A church-going drink-driver whose carelessness caused a close friend’s tragic death has had his sentence more than halved on appeal.

Judges heard that 19-year-old Stephen Thomas’s family had forgiven John Jolly, 26, for the crash on the A291 between Canterbury and Herne Bay.

Jolly was jailed for three years at Canterbury Crown Court in May.

He admitted causing death by careless driving when unfit through drink, and was also banned from driving for three years.

Jolly, of St Lawrence Forstal, Canterbury, had passed his driving test just two weeks before the November 2015 crash.

The pair and Jolly’s brother had gone for an evening out in Canterbury on the night of the accident, with Jolly downing three rum and cokes.

Tragedy unfolded when the group decided to drive on to Whitstable “to continue the night out”.

Jolly took a right-hand bend too fast, losing control of his Volkswagen Golf, which then struck a wooden fence close to the junction with Bullockstone Road.

A fence post cannoned through the windscreen, horrifically “impaling” Stephen, who had been studying science at Canterbury College.

Death was instant, Mr Justice Supperstone told the appeal court in London.

Jolly was driving at around 60mph in a 40mph speed zone, said the judge, and his offence involved more than “momentary inattention”.

Calculations revealed that Jolly would have around 86 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood when the accident happened. The legal limit is 80.

But the accountant and devout church-goer has since been plagued by remorse over his friend’s death, the court heard. He was also distraught at injuring his brother in the crash.

Jolly fully accepted his responsibility and had offered “no excuses”, the judge said.

His victim’s family, although devastated by their loss, had taken a “merciful and compassionate attitude”.

The court heard that the families attended the same church in Canterbury and Mr Thomas’s family had no desire to see another young life ruined.

“They have forgiven him,” said Mr Justice Supperstone, sitting with Lord Justice Burnett and Judge Nicholas Dean QC.

They refused to suspend Jolly’s sentence, but cut his jail term to 16 months to reflect his guilty plea and previous unblemished character.

Jolly is an Indian national, and under Home Office rules he could be deported after release, having received a jail term of more than 12 months.