A HIT and run driver who killed a Farnworth man has had his jail sentence increased by one year in the Court of Appeal.

But the extension to the original 30-month sentence has been slammed by the victim's parents as not being strong enough.

And they are furious that an administration cock-up denied them the opportunity to attend the appeal hearing in London.

Geoff and Margaret Willis, who had been raising funds to travel down to London to the Court of Appeal, only heard the case had come up almost two weeks after it was heard.

Crown Prosecution Service officials in Manchester, who broke the news to the Willis family, claimed to have also been left in the dark.

Now Mr and Mrs Willis, from Farnworth, who have the support of their MP, Dr Brian Iddon, are vowing to continue their fight for justice -- taking it to Europe if necessary.

Their son, Gareth, 29, suffered fatal injuries when a car ploughed into his motorbike in Little Hulton in May 1999.

The driver, Anthony Wynne, 31, sped off without stopping, leaving behind Mr Willis and his injured son, Joseph, who had been riding pillion.

Wynne, from Walkden, admitted in the original court case that he had been drinking earlier in the day and that, having only ever had two driving lessons, he possessed no licence. He also admitted failing to stop after the accident.

He was sentenced in the summer by a Manchester Crown Court judge to a 30 month prison sentence. However, 15 months were suspended so he could do community service.

At that time the sentence met with fury from Mr Willis's family. They started a campaign to get the sentence increased, circulating a petition and contacting Dr Iddon. As a result the Crown Prosecution Service sent the files on to the Attorney General, who agreed to taking the case to the Court of Appeal.

Mr and Mrs Willis were told that they would be given 48 hours notice of the appeal date, giving them the opportunity to attend. As they continued to wait, they were unaware the matter had already been dealt with on November 16.

Mr Willis said: "The CPS in Salford rang us yesterday to say that the case was heard on November 16 and he had been handed down an extra year.

"We were told the court listings must have got lost in the post. Not only do we feel that an extra year is not enough, we are furious that we were never given the opportunity to attend the court.

"We collected money to help get us down there for the case and had planned to get media coverage. Our family has never been heard in court.

"The CPS officers we have dealt with have been helpful, but the system has let us all down."

Mr and Mrs Willis have also been fund-raising to take a coachload of supporters with them to hand in a petition to the Prime Minister.

They hope to plan their visit to London to coincide with an Early Day Motion being presented in Parliament in support of tougher sentences for dangerous drivers. "It is disgusting and insulting. The British justice system has shocked me. It is disgraceful, in need of a good shake-up. "From start to finish to say we, the victim's family, have been ignored is an understatement.

I was going to pass printouts of what we wanted highlighting to the barrister. But now we have been robbed of that opportunity.