Car thief who killed mother for heroin fix jailed

Shaun Higgins left Lynda Hankey, 42, for dead when he drove off in her beloved MG sports car outside her home in Wigan, Greater Manchester, last January.

The incident was witnessed by her partner, Jamie Hudson, and Ms Hudson's five-year-old son. Ms Hankey, a mother of two adult sons, later died in hospital.

Higgins, 24, of Church Street, Leigh, Wigan, was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court after he admitted manslaughter, aggravated vehicle taking and causing death by dangerous driving while disqualified from driving.

Higgins was a heroin addict who stole Ms Hankey's car for drugs. He had a long history of offending, involving 29 appearances in court since he was 13, nine for motoring crimes.

When he killed Ms Hankey, he was on licence for aggravated vehicle taking.

Higgins showed no emotion as Judge Gerald Clifton told him: "You saw her and you deliberately drove towards her to force her out of the way.

"She stood bravely in your path but she was flung into the air like a rag doll."

The judge said Higgins' actions showed "calculated disregard" for Ms Hankey.

He said the defendant was a danger to the public and an indeterminate sentence was necessary.

"You are, and for the foreseeable future will be, a dangerous cocktail of risk," he said.

Ms Hudson watched as Higgins was sent down and outside court a

statement from her was read by her father Ken.

He read: "Lynda was my everything. She was my best friend and my soul mate and we were meant to be."

She added: "Tyler will never be the same again and he does not

understand that his mummy is not coming back.

"He witnessed what happened that day and has had nightmares since."

Senior investigating officer Andy Tattersall, from the major investigation team of Greater Manchester Police, said: "Higgins has a long history of anti-social behaviour, burglary and car crime – he seems to have a total disregard for authority despite the sentences given to him in the past."

On the day she was killed, Ms Hankey was planning a trip to Asda and had left the engine running while she went back into her house.

Both women, followed by Tyler, ran outside to see Higgins turning the car around at the end of their cul-de-sac.

Ms Hankey stood in the centre of the road waving her arms but Higgins callously accelerated towards her.

She flipped over the car and landed on the roof with her face over the windscreen, but Higgins shook off his victim, who was still alive.

She died in hospital from injuries caused when her head hit the pavement.

The court heard Ms Hudson and her son were "forever emotionally scarred and heartbroken".

In mitigation, Gordon Cole QC said Higgins had an "extremely troubled" background with a history of violence in the family home.