Driver jailed over death of five-year-old boy has appeal bid dismissed

Darren Jacques was jailed last December over the death of Layton Darwood in August 2020.

Layton Darwood, five, died in August 2020 (Northumbria Police/PA)

A disqualified driver who caused the death of a five-year-old boy has had a bid to reduce his sentence thrown out by the Court of Appeal.

Darren Jacques was jailed for six years following the death of Layton Darwood in what three senior judges called an “extremely traumatic” incident in Fenham, near Newcastle, in August 2020.

Barristers for Jacques, who was 42 when he was sentenced in December last year, argued at a hearing on Tuesday that the sentence was “manifestly excessive” and should be reduced.

But the judges dismissed the appeal bid, stating that the sentence was “fully merited” and that the challenge was “not arguable”.

A sentence of six years' imprisonment is fully merited

Mr Justice Cavanagh

Giving their ruling, Mr Justice Cavanagh, sitting with Lord Justice Warby and Mr Justice Wall, said: “A sentence of six years’ imprisonment is fully merited.

“It is not unjust in the circumstances of the case.”

Jacques, previously of Penrith, Cumbria, had 26 convictions for 54 offences between 1997 and 2023, including 11 motoring offences.

He had also been disqualified from driving four times, including once in 2018, with the judges describing his record as “appalling” and as showing “habitual flouting” of the law.

Despite still being banned on the day of the incident, he had been driving a Ford Transit tipper truck for work between Durham and Newcastle, which had a digger on a trailer attached at the back, stopping at a shop to buy alcohol.

While inside, Layton climbed onto the trailer parked on Willow Avenue, which went unnoticed by Jacques before he drove away.

After the vehicle began moving, Layton attempted to step off the trailer but fell and was run over, suffering fatal injuries.

Jacques originally gave a false name to police but was later convicted of causing death by driving while disqualified in September last year following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court.

He was also disqualified from driving for a further six years upon his release.

Barrister Chris Knox, representing Jacques on Tuesday, said that while the consequences of Jacques’ actions were “desperate”, they were “at the very bottom end of bad driving”.

He said: “This is a case where the level of culpable driving was actually very low.”

He continued: “The driving is not itself criticised beyond his failure to check.

“It is not a case in which there was gross driving, it is not a case in which there was intoxication or a case where there was speed, or where there was a dangerous manoeuvre.”

But the three judges dismissed the appeal bid, stating that Layton’s death was “devastating for the victim’s family” and describing the sentencing judge’s approach as “conspicuously clear, thoughtful and thorough”.