A DRIVER who killed a young couple and left four teenage girls for dead after fleeing the carnage is starting a four year jail sentence.

Sean Connolly ploughed the Mazda MX-5 sports car into a lamp-post and a dry cleaner's shop in Bury Road, Bolton, as he drove home at speeds of up to 70mph from the pub with Michael Jefferies and Lisa Halligan crammed into one front passenger seat.

The couple were flung from the car as he smashed into the lamp-post and then hit a crowd of 13 and 14-year-old girls before he walked off, telling a witness that Mr Jefferies had been driving.

Three of the girls - Rachel Hewitson, Lisa Bannister and Lucy Peeney - were left with lifelong disabilities which would never heal, Bolton Crown Court was told on Thursday.

Connolly, aged 22, of Stansfield Close, Tonge Moor, wept in the dock as Judge William Morris sentenced him for the "appalling accident" and banned him from driving for five years. The courtroom was packed with families of the six victims and Connolly's own family.

Following the sentence, the families of Mr Jefferies, aged 28, and 35-year-old mother of two Miss Halligan, attacked claims made in court about Mr Jefferies' behaviour in the car as an attempt to "discredit" him.

It was claimed that the pair had been drinking and had each taken an ecstasy tablet before allowing Connolly to get behind the wheel of the car where Mr Jefferies "nudged" the steering wheel twice before "yanking" it as they approached the junction of Bury Road and Bradford Street.

Richard Butcher, defending, said it had caused Connolly to lose control of the car and crash into the dry cleaners shop.

A statement read outside court on behalf of the two families said: "We feel that some of the details, which were released from court, were only mentioned to discredit Michael and taint his memory.

"Michael was a loving son and brother who would have done anything for anyone and was a fantastic man.

"No matter what happened in court today it would not have brought Lisa and Michael back to us. Both families have been left absolutely devastated by what happened on that night and we will never completely get over this."

"Both Lisa and Michael will be greatly missed by their families and will never be forgotten.

Mr Jefferies, a van driver of Bury Road, Bolton, and Miss Halligan, an IT worker, of Daisy Street, had been together for just four months at the time of the accident.

Rachel Hewitson, of Tetbury Drive, Breightmet, who was just 13 at the time, had been left with permanent disabilities after she suffered severe head injuries and was in a coma for three months, said Bernadette Baxter, prosecuting.

Cousins Lisa Bannister and Lucy Peeney, of Greenroyd Avenue, Breightmet, who were both 14 at the time, suffered multiple injuries and broken legs, the court heard.

Ms Baxter said Lucy was still receiving hospital treatment 10 months on from the accident.

Linda Longworth, of Archer Avenue, Tonge Moor, aged 14 at the time, suffered a badly broken leg.

The court heard that Connolly, a van driver for Warburtons bakery, had met the pair in the Black Horse pub, Bury Road, at 9.30pm on May 1 last year.

He told police he had drunk just one pint of lager before a discussion took place about Connolly getting home.

Ms Baxter said it was decided that Connolly would drive Mr Jefferies' red Mazda MX-5 home because the pair were intoxicated.

Police officers who investigated the accident estimated the car was travelling at 57 or 58 miles per hour shortly before the crash.

Linda Longworth, Rachel Hewitson, Lisa Bannister and Lucy Peeney, all friends from Thornleigh Salesian College, had been walking to meet friends at around 12.10am when Connolly lost control of the car, said Ms Baxter.

"Michael Jefferies and Lisa Halligan died almost immediately as a result of the impact."

Connolly then walked off from the scene after claiming to one passer-by who rushed to the scene to help that Mr Jefferies had been driving the car.

Connolly admitted two counts of causing death by dangerous driving at a hearing last month.

Judge Morris said: "This was an appalling accident which took the lives of two passengers in the car you were driving and which caused dreadful injuries to four girls aged between 13 and 14 who had the misfortune to walking at the spot where you lost control."