The former taxi driver who killed a 10-year-old girl - nicknamed Lollypop - while under the influence of cocaine has been jailed.

Lily Lockwood died after being struck by a car as she went to get sweets near her home in Stone, Dartford.

Now a judge has jailed Gavin Prodger, 53, after hearing how despite causing the death crash - he twice went driving under the influence of cocaine and was convicted on each occasion.

He will now go to prison for 12 years and after serving a minimum of at least eight years he will then serve another two years on licence when he is freed.

Prodger, who stood with his head bowed, was then banned from driving for 17 years.

Judge Phlip Statman told him: “You were substantially over the legal drug limits but you did not tell the truth to police about your use of cocaine. You had 57.8 gms of cocaine in the footwell of your vehicle at the time.

“At the time you knew that you couldn’t see properly and were advised to seek help..in the seconds before you collided you were using a mobile phone.sending a picture of your credit card.

“Lily was a pedestrian and vulnerable. You have a disregard with the safety of others.”

Prodger, of Beaulieu Rise, Rochester, was also speeding in his Audi, and was estimated to have been driving when he was 200 times over the drug-driving limit.

The court also heard that had been using his phone in the minutes prior to the accident on July 10, 2021.

The Brent Primary School pupil, of Radfield Drive, was struck by Prodger’s yellow Audi S1 near the junction with Meadow Way. This was caught on CCTV and shown in court.

Maidstone Crown Court was told Lily’s family donated her organs and helped save two adults and two children.

Her grandmother, Kim Wilkins, holding a montage of Lily’s images, who was also known as Lily the Pink after the song by Scaffold, said her heart was now giving “a little boy” hope.

She said in her Victim Impact Statement: “How do you put into words the loss of a grandchild, a little girl who was so full of life and had so much more life to live. How can you explain the pain and disbelief of never having this again.

“I relive the phone call I received that evening, of helplessness I felt and that nightmare that followed. Our lives were changed forever,

A recording of Lily’s heart as she lay in hospital has now been put inside a teddy bear in her memory.

Mum-of three, Nicola Waters revealed how Lily enjoyed making dancing videos on TikTok.

She revealed that on the day she died Lily had gone to the local shops when she heard screaming and she was told Lily had been knocked down.

“I was screaming out of shock because I didn’t know what was happening” and after Lily was taken to Kings Hospital in London, she spoke with the doctors who said her injuries left her on a life support machine.

“I knew then that my daughter was never coming back to me and I just collapsed. They [the doctors] explained Lily’s injuries were so bad she was not expected to survive and we would be lucky if she survived the night..I was crushed.

“When I got to Kings, I saw them wheel Lily into the hospital. The doctors in charge of Lily’s care came and spoke to us. They tried explaining everything but I just wanted to know how bad her injuries were so I had to ask them if my 10-year-old daughter was going to die. They told me yes.

“It was destroying. It was the worst thing that anyone could ever hear. I knew then that my daughter was never coming home to me and I just collapsed in the room and sobbed.”

Later, the family agreed that Lily’s organs could be used to help others after the mum spent the final night by her daughter’s side.

“It was the hardest night of my life..I had brought her into the world and I was going to stay with her until the end..I was told I could stay with her for an hour but I never wanted that hour to end.”

She added: “It’s a nightmare that I never wake up from” and revealed she wrote a poem which was read out at the funeral.

Judge Philip Statman adjourned the hearing for 10 minutes following her statement which left many, including police officers in tears.

He said: “The members of her family are close-knit and they are full of love and full of compassion for others.”

Prosecutor Natasha Dardashti told how Prodger had been driving at between 44 and 47 mph in the 30 mph limit and tests revealed he was seven times over the legal limit when he was tested five hours after the accident.

Experts backdated the figures which indicated Prodger was 200 times over the limit when the accident happened.

She revealed that Prodger also had problems with his eyesight and should not have been driving without visiting an optician.

And when he was questioned by police he lied about where he was in the hours prior to the accident

Prodger had denied the more serious charge of causing her death by driving dangerously and he was cleared when the Crown offered no evidence.

He pleaded guilty to causing her death in Watling Street, Dartford while having excess drugs in his system, including cocaine.

Prodger, who also admitted possessing a Class A drug, later had two more convictions for drug-driving since the accident.

Neil Ross, defending, said Prodger’s wife left him and he lost his home and he has made suicide attempts.

“It has changed him beyond belief and he is suffering from PTSD and he has mental health issues.”

Prodger wrote a letter to the judge saying he was remorseful but the judge told him that there was no genuine remorse and understanding about what he had done.

“It seems to me that while awaiting for this hearing, you went out and on two separate occasions you ended up being stopped and prosecuted for driving under the influence of drugs...which shows you had no understanding of the seriousness of what you did, ” added the judge.