A DRUNK driver has been jailed for five years by a judge at Maidstone Crown Court for knocking down and killing an elderly pedestrian.

Steven Waterman, 21, who only held a provisional licence, stood shame-faced in the dock as Mr Justice Harrison criticised him for failing to express his regret at an early stage.

“You caused the death back in November 2002 and it would have been much more meaningful if you had shown remorse then, rather than a year and a half later, some three weeks before your trial was coming up,” said the judge.

“You made no comment in interview and did not give evidence at your trial – both I stress you are entitled to do, but the result is there was no remorse expressed by you on those occasions.”

Waterman, of Iden Road, Frindsbury, near Strood, and Sean Turner, 27, had been on “a motorised pub crawl” when 74-year-old Bob Morris was mown down a few steps from his home in Benenden Road, Wainscott, near Rochester.

Waterman was more than two and a half times over the legal alcohol limit and had only held a provisional licence for about two months. He was uninsured.

Mr Morris was returning home from playing indoor bowls when Waterman lost control of the Vauxhall Nova at about 40mph in a 30mph zone. As the car skidded, Turner grabbed the handbrake. After hitting the victim, the car somersaulted into a garden and demolished a wall.

Mr Morris, who had leg ulcers and a heart condition, was taken to Medway Hospital where he died from multiple injuries.

Waterman denied causing death by dangerous driving but was convicted by a jury. He admitted causing death by careless driving while under the influence of alcohol.

Turner, a retail manager, of Grassmere Grove, Frindsbury, was cleared of causing danger to road users by interfering with a vehicle.

Fiona Rowling, defending, said she was aware that anything she said would not help the victim’s family.

“He does not seek to excuse his behaviour,” she said. “It is clear he genuinely feels remorse. It is not the custodial sentence that will be the hardest thing to deal with. It will be the consequences of his conduct forever.”

Miss Rowling said Waterman wrote the letter to Mr Morris’s family before the trial but it was not received until afterwards through no fault of his own.

The judge told Waterman, who was also banned for three years, that he was aware he should not be driving but gave it no thought and set out on a pub crawl of five bars over five hours.

“Forty miles an hour was far too fast for that road, as you will know,” he said. “At two and a half times over the limit and for an inexperienced driver, that was potentially lethal.

“This was a bad case of dangerous driving and aggravated significantly by the alcohol you had that evening. It is bad enough when an experienced driver drives when two and a half times over the limit, but even more so when it is an inexperienced driver who has not passed a test.”

Mr Justice Harrison said he appreciated that any sentence he passed would not reconcile the family of Mr Morris, a much loved and respected father and grandfather, to their loss or help their anguish.

He was inclined to accept, he said, that Waterman was now remorseful for what he did.