Anger of road victim's mother

Christopher Stalker: Convicted in eight minutes

The mother of a teenager killed by a car which was being raced through Aberdeen has expressed outrage at the jail sentence handed to the driver.

Susan Banks broke down in court as Christopher Stalker was jailed for 18 months for causing the death of her 16-year-old son Robert.

In a statement read by a relative outside Aberdeen Sheriff Court, she said: "My family is devastated at the short custodial sentence given to Christopher Stalker.

"We feel that the justice system has not only let us down but also the public.

"Christopher Stalker was found guilty of taking a young man's life and the sentence does not reflect the severity of the crime."

Dual carriageway

Stalker, 21, hit Robert in East North Street on 21 April, 2002.

He suffered a broken neck in the collision with Stalker's Ford Escort, which one witness estimated was travelling at nearly twice the 30mph speed limit.

A jury at the sheriff court previously took just eight minutes to convict Stalker of driving dangerously and racing against another driver on a dual carriageway near the city centre.

Stalker, of Schoolhill, Aberdeen, was also banned from driving for eight years.

Robert Banks: Died before mother reached hospital

Susan Banks had called for him to be sent to the High Court so that a longer prison sentence could be imposed.

The present maximum sentence for causing death by dangerous driving is 10 years.

A bill that would increase this to 14 years is currently going through Westminster.

She was in Edinburgh on the night her son was fatally injured. He died before she reached the hospital.

Mr Banks, of St Margaret's Hope, in Orkney, was studying at college in Fraserburgh and had been visiting a friend in Aberdeen.

The case against Alexander Freeman, 21, from Bourtree Avenue, Portlethen, who denied driving dangerously and taking part in a race with Stalker, was found not proven on the first charge and not guilty on the second by the jury.