A CAR crash which led to the death of a friend would live with the driver throughout his life, Wirral Magistrates' Court was told.

James Scott Andrews, 24, of Waterloo Warehouse, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to driving his Peugeot car carelessly in Pump Lane, Greasby, in August last year.

Andrews and colleagues had been playing cricket for Irby and were on their way for an evening out. But at 9.15pm he failed to negotiate a bend and left the road. The car rolled over several times and finished in a field.

Michael Griffith, 21, from Heswall, who was a passenger, was thrown out and died from his injuries, said prosecutor Jo Maxwell.

Miss Maxwell said the driver and two other occupants of the car were not hurt. Andrews told the police he eased off when he saw the bend in a road with which he was not familiar.

He felt the back swing and lost control.

Defence solicitor Andrew McInnes claimed it was a relat-ively minor error by Andrews, which culminated in tragic circumstances.

He accepted he took the bend too fast but there were no warning signs in the area where there had been a number of other accidents.

He said the Griffith family had acted with great dignity over the sad matter and like Andrews just wanted it brought to a close.

District judge Nick Saunders said the level of Andrews' driving at the time fell below an acceptable standard with extreme consequences but it did not warrant disqualification from driving.

He imposed six penalty points and fined Andrews £400.