Ex-Plymouth keeper jailed over crash death of boys

Former Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper Luke McCormick was jailed for seven years and four months yesterday after he admitted causing the deaths of two young children by dangerous driving in a car crash in June.

Arron Peak, 10, and his brother Ben, 8, died after their father's Toyota was involved in a collision with McCormick's Range Rover on the M6 motorway near Stoke.

The 25-year-old footballer also admitted driving with excess alcohol in a hearing yesterday at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court, the Press Association reported.

The court heard McCormick was twice over the alcohol limit and had fallen asleep at the wheel while driving home from a team-mate's wedding.

"I am so sorry... I just fell asleep," he told witnesses after the crash, the court was told.

The Toyota went down an embankment hitting several trees in the early morning crash which also seriously injured the boys' 37-year-old father Philip Peak.

He had been driving his sons to the Silverstone racetrack for a day out.

Angry relatives and friends of the Peak family accosted McCormick with photos of the dead boys as he entered the court building.

McCormick had become introverted and suffered nightmares since the crash, his lawyer said.

"The Luke McCormick who appears before you today is a shadow of his former self," he told the judge.

The former England youth international was twice named Plymouth's young player of the season but left the Championship club in July following the crash.