Thousands back grieving family's call for tougher bail conditions for drink and drug drivers

• Report by Jennifer Buck, ITV News Granada Reports

The family of a father who was killed by a drunk driver say tougher legal rules could have prevented the tragedy which took his life.

Tim Burgess, from Frodsham, Cheshire, died six months ago after his vehicle was struck head-on by a car driven by a man who was on bail after another crash only ten days earlier.

More than 100,000 people have now signed a petition in Tim's memory demanding bail restrictions on those accused of dangerous driving.

Joshua Eldred, 31, was driving at more than 65mph on the wrong side of the road when he struck a Suzuki Celerio of the A533 between the junction of Shutley Lane and Brakeley Lane in Northwich.

Tim was a passenger and his partner Wendy Wall, 48, was driving. She was seriously injured as a result of the collision.

Tim, also 48, sustained fatal injuries, and passed away at the scene.

Chester Crown Court heard Eldred, from Northwich, was late for work and was seen by witnesses to be driving erratically – stalling at traffic lights, driving on the wrong side of the road, and failing to maintain a steady speed.

He later pleaded guilty to causing serious injury and death by dangerous driving and was sentenced in October 2024 to 12 years in prison.

Tim's family learned that Eldred had been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving 10 days before the crash in which killed their loved one.

Dealing with the earlier incident Crewe magistrates were told Eldred had 100 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of his blood, exceeding the limit of 80.

He was also found to be unfit to drive through drugs when he was involved in the collision, after which he fled the scene.

Eldred pleaded guilty to three charges and was handed a further eight weeks' imprisonment, to be served concurrently to his 12 year term.

Now Tim's sister Linzi Stewart, 49, has launched the petition, calling on the government to amend the law so those charged with dangerous driving would have their licences immediately revoked, pending trial and sentencing.

The petition also calls for repeat dangerous driving offenders to be remanded in custody or closely monitored if released.

Linzi said: "If he had been remanded in custody or had some bail conditions put on him or his license revoked, Tim would possibly still be alive.

"We need to see some law changes regarding this because too many people are being killed on the roads by dangerous drivers who are allowed to reoffend."

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