UPDATE: Delny

The teenage driver who failed to stop at a Scottish crossing and collided with an oncoming train, killing his two passengers, has been jailed for five years.

Richard Fleming, 18, had earlier admitted pleaded guilty to causing the deaths of Paul Oliver and Alan Thain, both 17, in the incident last February.

Taking into account the guilty plea, Judge Lord Brailsford accepted that Fleming was "full of remorse" for his actions. After hearing of comments made by local councillors about Delny crossing, the judge said that there was "cogent and persuasive evidence that there were problems with the level crossing where this accident occurred". Although such evidence was "not exculpatory of this offence", Lord Brailsford believed it was a factor that allowed Fleming to be dealt with more leniently than would normally be the situation in a case involving two deaths.

Since the incident, Delny AOC has been fitted with extended hoods on the lights and rail traffic speed over the crossing has been reduced. A Network Rail spokesperson said "The sad fact is that they were killed by an act of reckless driving, not by a level crossing".

BBC News: http://tinyurl.com/3kou7c
Scotsman.com http://tinyurl.com/4mmew2