Family’s fury at hit and run sentence

Aidan Clynes, 18, of Middleton, Leeds, is still recovering nearly a year after he was hit by a car driven by Abid Hussain, 52, on Dewsbury Road, Tingley, near Leeds.

The smash on March 29 left him with two broken legs, a broken neck, ribs, collar bone, shoulder blade and bruised lungs. While police appealed for the driver to come forward, Mr Clynes was fighting for his life in intensive care at Leeds General Infirmary.

He spent 40 days in hospital, where surgeons pinned the bones in his leg and fitted a head brace to his broken neck. His still has twice weekly physiotherapy sessions, suffers flashbacks and was forced to ditch his aspiring career as a plumber due to his injuries.

Last week, Hussain, of Enfield Drive, Batley, appeared at Leeds Magistrates’ Court and admitted driving without due care and attention, failing to stop at the scene of an accident and failing to report an accident. He was given a 20-week sentence, suspended for 12 months, a nine-month driving ban and £230 costs.

Aidan said: “I couldn’t believe it. I was happy when they charged him. I thought some justice is going to come out of this. But then I heard what he got. I thought for doing something that bad, he would go to prison. It has changed my life altogether. I can’t sleep. I’m always thinking about it.”

His mother, Tina Clarke, said: “I’m disgusted. He should have got a prison sentence or banned for longer. To say Aidan nearly died twice in one week.”

She said: “Aidan feels like it’s never-ending but he’s doing the best he can to try and put it all behind him.”

Leeds North West MP Greg Mulholland echoed the family’s disbelief at the sentence, branding it “extraordinary and derisory”.

The Lib Dem MP last month spoke in a House of Commons debate calling for changes to sentencing for serious driving offences. A review is expected to start early this year. He said: “I’m pleased the Government has announced a review of sentencing guidelines for serious driving offences. This case shows the sentences given to hit-and-run drivers must be included in this.”