Naomi Buckle was just 21 when she was killed after the Audi RS3 she was a passenger in crashed into a tree on the B6265 near Ripon in the early hours of December 6, 2019.

The young mother from Catterick Garrison was described as ‘sweet and caring’ and left a daughter who was a toddler at the time.

The Audi driver, Harry Elliott, 24, from Gilling West near Richmond, appeared at York Crown Court today and pleaded not guilty to causing Miss Buckle’s death by dangerous driving and serious injury to another passenger, Tyler Kendell, who survived the collision.

Naomi Buckle, from Catterick Garrison, was just 21 when she died

The court was told that the prosecution’s case will rest on an analysis of speeds reached by the Audi on its journey from Catterick that night. GPS data will also be consulted.

The trial will not be heard until June 2023, almost four years after Miss Buckle died, and Judge Sean Morris described the case as one of the oldest on the court’s list and beset by ‘extraordinary delays’ since Mr Elliott, who was aged 21 at the time of the collision, was arrested and charged.

He warned Mr Elliott that by entering a not guilty plea, he risked a longer sentence if convicted and that ‘a bad case could get worse’ before the jury. Several case management hearings will take place before the planned five-day trial.

Naomi Buckle death: Audi driver denies killing young mother, 20, in crash near Grantley Hall in North Yorkshire