A dad has been jailed after he "shattered" the lives of a young couple while "showing off" at speed in his BMW.

Cameron Willmore was told by a judge that only immediate custody was appropriate for his "wholly reckless" driving on December 10, 2021, which left Joel Felix and his fiancee Leanne Dobson with multiple injuries.

Maidstone Crown Court heard the couple were walking their dog on the pavement in Station Road, Otford, near Sevenoaks, at about 8.30pm when Willmore's "recently-acquired" 3 Series Coupe ploughed into them.

Just seconds earlier the pair had seen the vehicle travelling at an estimated 80mph and heard the screeching of tyres.

Other pedestrians were forced to move out of the way as Willmore, then aged 22, lost control and struck a telegraph pole before rebounding off and sliding into the dog walkers.

Mr Felix later recalled the vehicle "crumpling" on impact with him and seeing Ms Dobson as she was also hit and knocked unconscious.

The couple, who had been due to wed in the summer of 2022, spent several days in hospital with injuries that included fractures to ribs, spine vertebrae and foot bones, a punctured and collapsed lung and a torn liver.

“I thought I was going to die and my fiancee had been killed...”

Willmore, of Edgar Road, Kemsing, confessed at the scene that he had "put his foot down". His front passenger also told police he had asked his friend to slow because he was driving too fast.

The court heard the road was subject to a 30mph limit, reducing to 20mph in parts.

The father-of-two, now 25, later pleaded guilty to two offences of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and appeared for sentencing last Thursday.

The reason for the delay in reaching court was not explained, nor was the court told if the victims' wedding had been able to go ahead as planned or if they had fully recovered.

But in impact statements written closer to the time of the smash, Mr Felix described how it had left him fearing he would be physically and emotionally unable to continue with his job as it involved him working with cars.

“I am at a loss for words at how this has impacted me and I feel it will be a very long time before I'm back to normal, if that's even possible...”

He spent 17 days at the Princess Royal University Hospital in Farnborough, near Orpington, with fractures to four ribs, lung problems and three broken bones in his right foot which required surgery.

He told police: "I don't feel safe walking on the pavement anymore and feel lucky to have got out of this alive.

"I thought I was going to die and my fiancee had been killed."

Ms Dobson, a hairdresser by trade, also feared not being able to continue working as a result of the injuries she suffered. These included a split in her liver, two fractured ribs and fractured vertebrae.

Having first been taken to Tunbridge Wells emergency department she was transferred to King's College Hospital in London where she remained an in-patient for six days.

She told police in her victim impact statement that she had been left in "immense pain and emotional turmoil".

"My whole life has been turned upside down. My confidence has been knocked and I feel extremely vulnerable," wrote Ms Dobson.

"I am at a loss for words at how this has impacted me and I feel it will be a very long time before I'm back to normal, if that's even possible."

Prosecutor James Partridge told the court the couple had seen the BMW drive past them and out of sight "well in excess" of the speed limit.

They then heard tyres screeching as it made its way back along Station Road, having gone round a roundabout.

"They heard it coming towards them. Other pedestrians moved out of the way," said Mr Partridge.

"The defendant then lost control of his vehicle and collided with a telegraph pole outside number 25 Station Road.

"It seemingly rebounded off that pole and went into both Mr Felix and Ms Dobson.

"One witness described the car as being driven 'very, very fast and swerving'."

Willmore stayed at the scene and told officers when they arrived that he was the driver.

“This was an immature mistake that he made and he has punished himself for it...”

"He said words to the effect of he had 'put his foot down coming over the hill' and didn't know what had happened," continued the prosecutor.

"But he was obviously affected by this and said he felt sick."

Willmore, who has no previous convictions, cautions or reprimands, was said to "massively regret" his actions and had "self-punished" and "self-disqualified" by not driving since.

Urging the court to spare him a prison sentence, his barrister Georgia Morgan also said there was an "exceptionally" realistic prospect of rehabilitation and that custody would impact on his children, aged five months and two years.

"This was an immature mistake that he made and he has punished himself for it," she added.

“You did an act in a wholly reckless way which has had a shattering consequence for two people who could have quite easily been killed...”

But on passing sentence, Recorder Edmund Fowler said that notwithstanding the mitigation put forward on his behalf, which included numerous references and an "insightful and sincere" letter from Willmore, he could not spare him prison.

Jailing Willmore for two-and-a-half years, the judge told him: "You had gone out in your recently-acquired BMW Coupe and were showing off, demonstrating how fast and powerful it was.

"You were driving in a thoroughly dangerous manner and at excessive speed.

"People had to take evasive action and your passenger told you to slow down because he didn't feel safe. But you ignored him.

"Joel Felix and Leanne Dobson were walking their dog along the pavement. Ms Dobson estimated your speed to be about 80mph.

"Because of your excessive speed you lost control, colliding with a telegraph pole. The car then rebounded and slid and struck Mr Felix and Ms Dobson, causing very serious injuries.

"Mr Felix landed, unable to breathe, thinking he would die and his fiancee was dead.

"The references speak very highly of you and the profound effect these offences have had on you.

"They present another side to your character and one which I suspect to be your true character.

"But you did an act in a wholly reckless way which has had a shattering consequence for two people who could have quite easily been killed."

Willmore was also banned from driving for four years and three months, and will have to take an extended test to regain his licence.