A DRUNK driver who caused the death of his best friend after bouncing off a speed hump and hitting a wall has been jailed for five years by a judge at Maidstone Crown Court.

Mark Lawson, 23, of East Farleigh, near Maidstone, only had a provisional licence and was more than twice the legal alcohol limit when he agreed to take home three friends in the Vauxhall Nova he had bought that day.

Lawson, the victim Mark Taylor, 26, and other passengers John Grey and Ian Burnett, had been out drinking before the tragedy in the early hours of June 30 last year.

Their car had been parked in a cul-de-sac in College Avenue, Maidstone, and it was after driving away that Lawson hit the speed hump and lost control. The car spun across the road and hit a wall. Mr Taylor, 26, of Riversdale, Gravesend, had not been wearing a seatbelt.

Lawson admitted causing death by careless driving while over the prescribed limit. He was also banned from driving for five years.