The father of a man killed by a driver in an incident near Ashby 15 months ago has said this week's court verdict tells him that his son's life was only less than £3,000.

Tommy Hunter, from Newhall, was killed in an early-hours collision in December 2023. The incident left him in a hedge in a nearby field, where he was discovered the morning after.

This week, Brandon Beesla, 27, of Burton on Trent, appeared before Leicester Magistrates and was fined £2,000 for using a motor vehicle in a condition likely to cause danger of injury - added to that was an £800 surcharge, £85 court costs and a one-year driving ban.

But the decision not to prosecute for the more serious offence of failing to stop after a road accident - which can carry a prison sentence - has left Tommy's dad Mark frustrated.

He is also angry that Beesla, despite getting a driving ban, was allowed to have his distinctive Pontiac Firebird car back.

Mark, from Woodville, says it means it will be seen on the road by his family on a regular basis, as a reminder of what happened.

He also says it means Tommy's son, Harrison, aged five, will grow up with the family feeling that justice has not been served.

Tommy Hunter. Photo: From Derbyshire Constabulary

Mark spoke to Ashby Nub News the day after the court case and said: "We had a meeting with the police and CPS last Thursday, and to be fair to all, they explained where things didn't meet, as they termed it, the threshold. 

"There was no evidence to suggest he'd been drinking. Because there was no CCTV or witnesses, they couldn't say it was death by dangerous driving or careless driving, so some of the things weren't meeting the threshold to take him into court. 

"We were told that at a meeting at Coalville police station on Thursday. But it's like being told someone's ill and is going to die. It's still a shock when that happens. So it was still a shock on Monday. I couldn't go to court. I didn't want to see him. I didn't want to breathe in the same air if I'm honest. 

"Now it just feels like Tommy's life was worth less than three grand.

"It's hard for me as Tommy's parent. Tommy's little boy, Harrison, he's going to grow up not knowing his dad. But at least he could have thought, well, the bloke got punished. 

"The hardest thing was that prosecution pushed for him not to get his car back, but he's got it back.

A memorial at the scene of the incident was created on the Burton Road. Photo: Courtesy of Mark Hunter

"And because he lives in Burton and we're in Woodville, and he goes to Ashby regularly, he's going to drive along the A511, probably near where my grandkids are going to school, or my daughter's walking the kids to school. That car is unmistakable."

The car was then driven away from the collision with a damaged windscreen, and that was the charge Beesla faced in court.

But Mark added: "The last thing Tommy would have seen was that they looked at each other as he hit the windscreen. That's an image I'll never get out of my head.

"I've explained to some people what had happened, but you can get overwhelmed.

"I'd go to the shops, and then have people coming up to me, and I used to say I've got about four people talking to me about it, and then I'm drained mentally.

"In court, the defence, said he was distraught. But I don't agree with that.

"He drove out a car that was likely to cause damage or injury to people because of the windscreen. He pled guilty yesterday to that. So why? How did they think that had been caused?

Police closed Burton Road the morning after the incident in 2023. Photo: Ashby Nub News

"Though the police say they believe Beesla had been in the Bull's Head pub in Repton, there was no proof he had been drinking and they didn't have enough to get, as they call it, over the threshold."

The court was told that Beesla has two previous convictions for driving with excess alcohol.

A spokesperson from the Crown Prosecution Service told the BBC website: "Our thoughts and sympathies are with Mr Hunter's family and loved ones for their sudden and tragic loss.

"As would be expected in these circumstances, the evidence in this case was assessed in considerable detail."

The BBC reported that the court heard that earlier, prosecutor Sabrina Sahota had told the court Beesla had called a friend "in a distressed state" in the early hours of 10 December and said he had hit something in the road.

Ms Sahota said Beesla was "in a panic" and asked the friend: "What if I have hit something, someone, or an animal?"

The court heard the friend had driven to Burton Road to meet Beesla and search the area with torches before leaving.

"Following the assessment of this evidence, including phone records and a thorough investigation by a police collision expert, it was determined that there was no realistic prospect of a conviction for any offences other than the offence of driving a vehicle in a dangerous condition."

Rebecca Barrowcliffe, mitigating, said Beesla, who has two previous convictions for driving with excess alcohol, was living with the burden of what happened.

"The remorse and regret of what happened will likely never leave him," she said.

"Nothing he could ever say or do will ease the suffering of Mr Hunter's family.

"The police report is clear. Mr Beesla is not culpable for the death of Mr Hunter."