A Whitstable dad-of-two has been jailed for three years for causing the death of a teenager in an accident.

Railway signalman Gareth Jones, 49 and pictured left, was at the wheel of his powerful Volvo S80 - when it hit a moped on the A229 Thanet way.

Schoolboy Thomas Brenchley - the son of a police sergeant - died from head injuries the day after the accident in July last year.

Jones, of Hill View Road, was found guilty by a jury at Canterbury Crown Court of causing death by driving carelessly. He had denied the offence.

The Judge Adele Williams said Jones had "shown only self pity and arrogance" and had been unable to accept responsibility.

"In my view you have shown not one ounce of true remorse."

She said she believed the death crash was caused because of Jones' lack of sleep - he had been on his way to do a nightshift at Earl's Court at the time.

Tom's parents, police sergeant Dave Brenchley and wife Jackie, from Hernhill, were in the public gallery to hear the verdict.

The judge said that 16-year-old Thomas, pictured below, had been "intelligent, responsible, popular and full of life".

She said he loved sport and had successfully received an apprenticeship in carpentry- just before tragedy struck.

Judge Williams said she had read Victim Impact Statements from the Brenchley family which had made "the most moving reading".

Thomas - who had his moped for just a week - had joined the road at about 9.45 pm when he was suddenly hit from behind by the Volvo.

The youngster, who had been a pupil at Canterbury's Archbishop's School, received serious head injuries and was taken to King's College Hospital in London but died the following day.

Prosecutor Andrew Espley claimed that traffic was light and the road well-lit and the moped "would have been visible for at least 16 seconds" prior to the collision.

"Thomas was in the correct lane at the time of collision. He was upright and his tail light was working.

"The Crown say that Jones was driving carelessly at the time of the collision. We say that to run into the back of a vehicle that you should have seen means you are driving carelessly."

Mr Espley said people heard Jones say after the accident: "I didn't see him. I didn't see him."

Scott Wainwright, defending, said Jones had "expressed remorse that he felt for this tragedy."

He added: "This is something that will live with him forever."

Jones was also banned from driving for three years and ordered to take an extended driving test before he can drive again.