A DRIVER high on drink and drugs killed a teenage passenger in what other road users termed a "suicidal" crash on the outskirts of Bewdley, Worcester Crown Court was told.

James Birch was at the wheel of a stolen Ford Escort on March 12 when he overtook a line of vehicles on the A456 near the Royal Forester and smashed head-on with a car coming the other way.

Four other cars were involved and his back-seat passenger, 16-year-old Gavin Connelly, of Jubilee Drive North, Kidderminster, was thrown out and killed.

Birch, aged 22, of Stanbrook Road, Tenbury Wells, was jailed for six years after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving. He was banned from driving for 10 years.

He was jailed for an additional one and a half years after admitting a house burglary, theft of slates worth £3,500 and driving whilst disqualified.

Judge David McEvoy QC also ordered him to complete 300 days of a previous sentence for burglary before he starts the seven-and-a-half year jail term.

Neil Chamberlain and Paul Jackson, from Kidderminster, were also in the Escort, which finished on its side, but they were not badly injured, said Nicolas Cartwright, prosecuting.

Birch told police that he had drunk eight pints of lager between noon and 6pm, when the crash happened. Blood tests also showed the presence of ecstasy and methadone.

Several witnesses described Birch's driving as "suicidal" and another driver said the passengers in the car appeared to be dancing in their seats as though they were listening to music. They were also gesticulating to other road users.

Birch first denied he was the driver but said later that he thought the road was clear and the oncoming car "came from nowhere". It was foggy and falling dusk at the time. He said he had had only two hours sleep because he was suffering withdrawal symptoms from heroin.

His counsel, Tim Sapwell, said that Birch, who had a long list of previous convictions for driving offences and dishonesty, had expressed remorse for the death of Gavin Connelly. "Drink, drugs and the surrounding lifestyle was the catalyst for what happened on that day," he said.