Man guilty of father's road death

Scott Irwin's partner told the court she had lost her soulmate

A man has been found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving after a young father was killed in a collision.

Lee Philip Whettall, 25, from Kidderminster, Worcestershire, caused the death of Scott Irwin, 23, last March, Hereford Crown Court heard.

Whettall was two-and-a-half times over the drink-drive limit when his van hit a Rover 216 in which Mr Irwin was a front-seat passenger, the jury heard.

Three other people were injured in the crash in Kidderminster last year.

The collision happened at the junction of the A451 Minster Road and Oldington Lane in the early hours of 31 March 2008, police said.

CCTV evidence helped convince the jury that Whettall jumped the lights at a major road junction between Kidderminster and Stourport.

In a letter read out to the court, Mr Irwin's partner, Jodie Carroll, said she had lost her soulmate and the father of their young son.

Whettall, from Habberley Street, Kidderminster, was remanded in custody on Wednesday and is due to be sentenced on 14 July.