A teenage driver has been jailed for six years after he lost control of his car and crashed into a group of 30 schoolchildren, killing a 14-year-old girl and leaving a boy in a coma.

Ben Gemmell, who is 18-year-old tomorrow, had passed his driving test just three weeks before he hit the children, who had gathered in a quiet road in Thorpe Bay, Essex, after finishing exams and a celebratory birthday meal.

Gemmell swerved at some children to “frighten them” in March this year but lost control of his Citroen C1 and ploughed into the main group of youngsters aged between 14 and 17, sending some of them 15ft into the air.

PC Gillian Brettell, the first police officer on the scene, described to Basildon Crown court seeing “lifeless bodies” lying on the ground, a crumpled car crashed into a small tree and brick rubble strewn about.

Andrew Jackson, for the prosecution, said that Gemmell had been seen showing off to young girls in his car and doing a handbrake turn just before the “very tragic and very distressing” crash. He was “wrestling for control” as he hit the group of youngsters, some of whom he knew, at 47mph.

He added: “The affect was to push those in its path through the brick garden wall.”

The court heard how some of the youngsters put Eleanor McGrath, 14, and Jack Horton, 16, into the recovery position and gave them mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until ambulance crews arrived. Two doctors who lived nearby also helped. The injured had been thrown across the driveways of two homes.

Fourteen youngsters, including Eleanor from Shoeburyness, Southend, were admitted to hospital. The schoolgirl was later transferred to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London with serious head injuries but her life support machine was switched off four days later.

Jack Horton, from Southend, suffered severe head injuries and is in a coma in a London hospital.

His mother sobbed loudly from the packed public gallery as the court was told that her son remained in a “persistent vegetative state”, the prognosis was extremely poor and he may never wake up.

Seven others suffered serious injuries in the crash, including head injuries and broken limbs.

The court was told how Gemmell initially blamed the youngsters for causing the crash, claiming that one of them had stepped into the gutter and he had swerved to avoid them, but his barrister, Gareth Hughes, said that was not the case and that he took “full responsibility” for the tragedy.

He added that Gemmell had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, had a previous good character, there were no drugs or alcohol involved and he had written letters to all his victims.

Gemmell attended Southend High School for Boys and knew many of the youngsters involved in the crash who came from his school and Southend High School for Girls. He is believed to be the nephew of Peter Taylor, the former head coach of the England under-21 football team.

Gemmell had earlier pleaded guilty to one count of causing death by dangerous driving and eight counts of causing grievous bodily harm.

Judge Christopher Mitchell banned him from driving for 10 years. He told the sobbing teenager: “In your immaturity you were using the car as a toy to do tricks with, ignoring the the fact a motor vehicle is a potentially dangerous, very dangerous, weapon.

“You were showing off. You took a deliberate decision to do what was clearly an inherently dangerous act to deliberately swerve your car towards a group of young people with the intention of frightening them. It did frighten them.

“It’s been described as a moment of madness; it was a moment of complete and utter irresponsibility.

“The harm you have caused by your actions is extensive. A whole community linked by schools, families and clubs has been affected by this.”

After the sentence there were tears from dozens of youngsters in the public gallery. One young girl was on crutches and others limped as they left the court.

Eleanor’s mother, Gillian McGrath, said in an impact statement that the death of her only daughter had been “unbearable” and “left a tremendous void in the family that will never be the filled”.

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