Drink driver jailed over death

McKelvie admitted his driving had caused Ms Armstrong's death

A drink driver who killed his fiancée while nearly twice the legal alcohol limit has been jailed for three-and-a-half years.

Alexander McKelvie had been speeding when he lost control of his Volkswagen Golf Gti at a bend and crashed into trees while driving Claire Armstrong to a railway station.

The 24-year-old mother-of-one was planning to move from her home in Coventry to live with McKelvie in Mossblown, Ayrshire.

At an earlier court hearing, telephone engineer McKelvie, 34, admitted causing Ms Armstrong's death by driving dangerously while almost twice the alcohol limit.

Witnesses saw his car swerve on the B743 Ayr to Mauchline road before hitting a crash barrier.

Claire was sitting on the passenger side and took the full impact of the crash.

She died at the scene, the High Court in Glasgow was told.

Through your own actions you have lost your partner - a loved one - and you have to live with that for the rest of your life Lord Menzies

The tragedy happened on the afternoon of 16 June, 2002, while McKelvie was driving his partner of a year to a station after spending the weekend together.

McKelvie, who has a 10-year-old son from a previous relationship, was still over the limit after drinking the night before, the court heard.

Defence counsel Petra Collins said her client, who had a clean licence, would never have got behind the wheel if he had known he was still intoxicated.

McKelvie, who was not hurt in the crash, had buried himself in his work to try and blank out the pain of the accident, Ms Collins said.

"He was driving too fast to negotiate the first bend and he lost control," she said. "Nothing he can do can turn the clock back."

Jailing McKelvie for three-and-a-half years and banning him from driving for five years, Lord Menzies said: "Through your own actions you have lost your partner - a loved one - and you have to live with that for the rest of your life."

The judge added that if Ms Armstrong had not been McKelvie's fiancée, he would have been jailed for at least five years.