Stoke-on-Trent mum's anger at length of killer driver's sentence

The mother of a six-year-old girl killed by a driver under the influence of drink and drugs says his jail sentence is an "insult".

Sharlotte Naglis died when a car driven by John Owen mounted the pavement in Norton Green, Stoke-on-Trent, in June 2021.

Owen, 46, who was also using his phone and speeding, was jailed for six years and two months last week.

Sharlotte's family has called for the sentence to be extended.

As well as signing a petition, her mother Claire Reynolds is also urging people to contact the Attorney General about the case, believing her daughter's killer could be released in three years for good behaviour.

Before sentencing, Owen had pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.

"How much more did he need to do to actually get the absolute maximum he could... to actually be punished?" Ms Reynolds said.

"Three years is nothing... Sharlotte was six, it's not even half the life that he took."

The maximum prison sentence for dangerous drivers who kill was increased from 14 years to life in June.

Sharlotte was killed a short distance from her home when walking with her father to buy sweets.

Ms Reynolds ran to the crash scene and found her daughter fatally injured.

She wears her daughter's ashes around her neck and says the house feels "so quiet" without her.

"She was always smiling, always full of energy - she never wanted to be kept indoors," Ms Reynolds said of her daughter.

"If I feel down I do talk to her and I do hold the mould of her hand that we've got.

"It's just that pain everyone describes. No one really understands what it's like to lose a child."

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said sentencing was a matter for independent judges, adding: "Dangerous drivers ruin lives and our new laws have increased the maximum penalty for causing death to life."

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]