A MAN has been jailed after he admitted causing the death of a friend while driving dangerously on a main Kendal road.

James Oliver, 28, of Lancing Close, Liverpool, was driving a silver Peugeot on Aynam Road on March 23 last year when it left the road and collided with a stone wall.

Front seat passenger Robert Clinton, 21, who was known as ‘H’ to family and friends, died at the scene.

Speaking after Oliver was jailed for eight years, H’s family said: "Today has been a very emotional end to a long and traumatic process.

"We all feel some kind of relief and that a giant weight has been lifted. We are glad it is over.

"No sentence will ever bring our H back and we will forever miss him. However, the sentence passed is the most severe given the guidelines and we thankfully to Judge Batty for that.

"We can now all move on with our lives and have finally got closure although H will always be in our hearts."

Sergeant John Leonard said: "The actions of Oliver resulted in him losing control and crashing the car, causing the death of one of his friends.

"We hope that the sentence todays helps to bring some closure to the family on this aspect of this tragedy and allows them to remember the person H Clinton was."

Oliver will also be disqualified from driving for six years and will have to retake his test.