A DRIVER who killed an 11-year-old girl in a hit and run crash while under the influence of drugs has been jailed for 12 years and three months.

Christopher Hannah, 33, was also banned from driving for life when he was sentenced at the High Court in Livingston yesterday over the death of Sophie Brannan.

Judge Lord Bannatyne repeated Hannah's own description that he had driven like a "mad man" and told him it was tragic that he had taken a young life away, adding that Sophie's family would never get over her death.

Family and friends of the little girl attended court to hear Hannah's fate - many of them wearing pink t-shirts bearing the words "Soph' and "Justice". None of them was prepared to comment on the sentence afterwards.

The judge reminded Hannah how the hired Vauxhall Astra Hannah he was driving had mounted the pavement and struck Sophie in Sandbank Street, Maryhill, on November 14 last year. Her friend Chelsea Sommerville, 10, and Chelsea's uncle, Joseph Lloyd, were also badly injured.

Lord Bannatyne said: "What happened on the day of this incident was a dreadful tragedy. The consequences of your conduct that night have been of the most significant kind.

"A young girl, with her whole life ahead of her, has been deprived of her life. Her family has suffered terrible pain at the loss of their child. They have suffered an incalculable loss by the death of their child. They will suffer for the rest of their lives. They will never be reconciled with their loss. Their lives have been shattered.

"Beyond that, your actions have had very serious effects on the lives of the two people who were seriously injured. In particular, the young child has had considerable ongoing emotional difficulties."

Witnesses claimed Hannah, said to be a heroin addict, was "under the influence of some substance" at the time of the accident. He lost control of the car and fully mounted the pavement before hitting the gable end of a nearby building.

The car continued to career forward, eventually ploughing into Sophie and the two people with her from behind. They were thrown onto the bonnet, windscreen and roof of the vehicle before falling onto the ground.

More witnesses saw Hannah speed onto nearby Maryhill Road with his badly-dented car being "driven erratically".

He then crashed into a taxi whose driver decided to follow Hannah, who eventually stopped a short distance away before running away. He later admitted he had "driven like a mad man" and that he thought he had hit a wheelie bin but did not wait to find out.

Sophie was taken by ambulance to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children at Yorkhill where she was found to have swelling to her brain, several fractures and broken bones. She remained in intensive care overnight but was pronounced dead on the morning of November 15.

The court heard that Chelsea suffered a serious leg break which will require long-term physiotherapy. Her leg was still in plaster several months after the tragedy.

Chelsea's uncle also suffered a number of fractures, and eventually required surgery. He is likely to suffer "long-term restriction" of movement in his right shoulder.

The accused told police in a phone call later the same day: "I'm sorry - I didn't mean to do it. It was a total accident. I lost control of the car and I panicked."

Lord Bannatyne told Hannah: "On that night you should not have been on the road. You were unfit to drive because you were under the influence of drugs. You took a conscious decision to drive while in that condition.

"It is clear that you were prepared to drive in a wholly reckless manner and your driving demonstrated a flagrant disregard for the rules of the road."

As well as culpable homicide, Hannah also pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, attempting to defeat the ends of justice and possessing heroin.

It emerged he already had 14 previous convictions for crimes including having an offensive weapon and road traffic charges. He was on bail at the time.

He was given 10 years' imprisonment for the culpable homicide charge, reduced from 13 years and four months because of his early guilty plea.