Millom mum warns teens more at risk of crashes than crime

The car Caitlin Huddleston was a passenger in collided head-on with a van travelling in the opposite direction

The mum of a teenager who died in a car crash says parents need to be aware young people are more at risk on roads than from drugs or violent crime.

Sharron Huddleston's daughter Caitlin, 18, and her friend Skye Mitchell were killed on the A595 near Barrow, Cumbria, in July 2017.

Ms Mitchell had passed her driving test four months earlier.

The AA Charitable Trust said more than 1,500 young drivers were killed or injured every year on UK roads.

It said road collisions were the leading cause of death worldwide for young people aged between 15 to 29.

Sharron Huddleston would not have let her daughter get into the car that day if she had known the risks

Mrs Huddleston said: "If only I had known the risks, I would not have let Caitlin get in the car that day.

"Had we been made aware just how many young people lose their lives every year in road crashes, we could have made an informed decision about whether to allow Caitlin to travel in a friend's car."

The two 18-year-olds had been heading to a restaurant in Gosforth when the Toyota Yaris they were in crashed into a van.

Although Ms Mitchell had not been speeding, she was driving on an unfamiliar rural road in wet weather.

Caitlin Huddleston and Skye Mitchell were both 18 when they died

At the inquest into their deaths, the Cumbria coroner Robert Chapman called for a phased licensing system to be introduced in the UK, restricting young, newly qualified drivers from carrying passengers until they had been driving for six months or more.

The call has been backed by Mrs Huddleston.

"Parents need to know the risks. Road collisions are the leading cause of death for young people worldwide," she said.

"We need as many people as possible to know how at risk young, novice drivers are when they get behind the wheel, particularly when carrying passengers of a similar age.

"You never think it will happen to you, but we are proof that it does."

The Department for Transport said it was "committed to keeping new drivers safe" and had commissioned research to examine what can be done help newly qualified motorists "improve their skills and safety".

A spokesman said: "Every death or serious injury on our roads is a tragedy and we continue to work tirelessly to improve road safety for all users."