Somerset drink-driver has jail sentence increased

A drink-driver who filmed himself at the wheel saying he was "smashed" before causing a fatal crash has had his jail sentence increased.

Anton Hull had been drinking rum and lager before he hit Sarah Baker, who was driving to Somerset.

Hull, 22, from Galhampton, Somerset, had been jailed for six years and given a nine-year driving ban.

At the Court of Appeal, the sentence was increased to nine years and three months.

He was also given a driving disqualification of 12 years and two months.

The Crown Prosecution Service referred the case to the Attorney General's Office, on behalf of Avon and Somerset Police, as an unduly lenient sentence.

Hull was driving home when his van hit Ms Baker's Volkswagen near Wincanton, Somerset, in August 2022.

People who called 999 at the crash scene said he "stank of booze".

A blood test showed Hull was approximately one-and-a-half to two times over the legal drink-drive limit.

The family of Sarah Baker said her death had "left a gaping hole in our hearts"

Avon and Somerset Police said he refused to provide officers with the passcode for his mobile phone, but experts were able to gain access and find videos he had filmed at the wheel.

"I don't know about you, but I'm smashed," he could be heard saying in one.

At a hearing in October, Hull admitted causing death by dangerous driving

Dai Nicholas, who led the police investigation, said Hull had "made a conscious decision" to drive to the pub and drink.

"He then made a catastrophic conscious decision to drive home, when he was clearly unfit to," he said.

"That he filmed himself on his own phone just increased the level of risk even more.

"My heart goes out to the family of Sarah Baker."