Paignton man jailed for almost two years after leaving teenager in ICU following hit and run

A man who mowed down four teenagers in a hit and run in Torquay has been jailed for almost two years.

Tyrone Shellam was speeding on wet roads in October last year when he lost control of the Vauxhall Tigra he was driving.

The car - which he was not licensed or insured to drive - span across the road and hit four pedestrians walking down the street.

One of the teens was hit with such force that he was thrown over a wall and into the garden of a neighbouring house.

Two of those hit were left unconscious on the ground when Shellam fled the scene.

One victim, Luke Heaton, spent two weeks in intensive care with serious head injuries and another, William Lowry, needed an operation to fix plates in his leg, which was broken in three places.

Shellam ran from the scene after the car stopped when it crashed into a parked vehicle, without stopping to check on the people he had hit.

He denied any involvement in the incident when police tracked him down, and it took five months for a case to be built against him.

Shellam, formerly from Brixham but most recently residing in Paignton, eventually admitted two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, driving without a license or insurance and failing to stop or report an accident.

He has been sentenced to 21 months in prison and faces a three year ban from driving.

In a virtual hearing at Exeter Crown Court, in which Shallam appeared by video link from prison and the lawyers appeared via Skype, Judge David Evans noted several contributing factors which led to the accident.

Shellam was working as a builder at the time of the accident and hopes to return to his job after his release.