Lake death driver 'never passed test'

Courtney Barker denies three counts of manslaughter

A man who killed three young children when the car he was driving fell in to a lake had not passed a driving test, a court heard.

Courtney Barker had also never taken a driving lesson, had no insurance, and his car was not taxed at the time of the accident at the Blue Lagoon in Bedfordshire, Luton Crown Court was told.

His girlfriend's three children - six-year-old Imran Khan, five-year-old Aaron Khan and three-year-old Sharla Blair - who were sitting in the back of the car - drowned in the accident.

Mr Barker, 22, of Morris Close, Marsh Farm, Luton, denies three counts of manslaughter.

Sharla Blair, three, died in the accident

He had driven them off a cliff into the lake as he sat in the Vauxhall Astra estate with one foot sticking out of the door, Jo Butler, prosecuting, told the court.

Mr Barker's "appalling driving" was to blame for the car plunging into the chalk pit on a "gloriously sunny day", Miss Butler told the jury.

Mr Barker, together with the children's mother Claire Armstrong and family friend Ryan Purdy, managed to escape from the car as it sank in 20 feet of water at the lake at Arlesey on 28 July.

Miss Butler said Mr Barker had pulled up on one side of the lake followed by a number of friends in another car.

But he then decided to move around the lake to Crane Hill, where he had parked a number of times before.

The car was recovered from the lake

With the three children and their mother in the back seat and Ryan Purdey in the front, Mr Barker had driven towards the cliff edge at speeds of up to 30 mph, holding the driver's door open with his right foot, she told the court.

"Many witnesses say that the driver was still in that position when the car went off the cliff, somersaulted and fell into the deep water," Miss Butler said.

"There were no marks on the cliff face and the bushes at the water's edge - indicating that the vehicle must have flown through the air."

Mr Barker later told police that the accelerator pedal had jammed, the court was told.

But tests showed no defects on the car which could have contributed to the accident.

The case continues.