Stephen McHugh, 28, of Artillery Road in Oswestry, was found guilty yesterday following a two-week trial at Stafford Crown Court.

He was also convicted of attempted grievous bodily harm of 18-year-old Kyle Roberts for which McHugh will serve four years to run concurrently.

In the early hours of Sunday 9 October McHugh drove at a crowd of pedestrians outside the Grill Out takeaway on Willow Road in Oswestry.  His car mounted the kerb and struck 22 year old Rebecca, causing catastrophic injuries.  She was taken to Royal Shrewsbury Hospital but sadly died shortly after arriving.

Today Mr Justice Baker described the Steer family as admirable and says their testament is how widely loved Rebecca was.

Rebecca’s family have described her as “loving and talented” and a “pure joy”.

Mr Justice Baker acknowledged that the incident was not pre-meditated and that there has been some remorse.

He told McHugh: “The impact of that is limited by your belief that you didn’t intend to do harm.

You were drunk and high on cocaine and in your own words, you had drunk lager and spirits and had cocaine up to five minutes before the incident.

“You were not a qualified driver and you ignored the words of your passengers Alex Coulson and Kyle Dwyer, and you told them to shut up.

“You, as the prosecution said, used your car as a weapon as you were too cowardly to get out of the car and you used it as a battering ram.

You injured Kyle Roberts, and finally you have a history of offending with drugs and firearms.

“Those aggravating factors outweigh the mitigating factors and you will serve 18 years.”

Sentencing guidelines mean McHugh will serve a minimum of 15 years.