Crash parents' mobile plea
The families of two schoolfriends killed in a crash by a Shropshire trucker have issued a plea for other drivers not to use mobile phones at the wheel.
In a joint statement issued by police, the parents of Rebecca Casterton and Lauren Brooks described the girls' deaths as avoidable and unnecessary.
Lauren, 12, and Rebecca, 13, were killed on the A38 in Staffordshire last year when the car they were travelling in was struck by a truck.
At the time of the accident, truck driver Robert Murray, from Telford, was putting a mobile phone on charge after finishing a call.
In their statement, the girls' parents said: "A year ago two families lost two wonderful daughters.
"Rebecca and Lauren were bubbly, bright and full of life, loved by everyone who knew them and a credit to their families.
"It has been a very difficult year and the pain of losing them in such tragic circumstances is with us every day."
The families added that they were pleased the legal process was now at an end and that the man who was responsible for the deaths had received a prison sentence.
Their statement continued: "A year ago, two young lives were lost unnecessarily because the driver of a lorry was too busy using a mobile phone to concentrate on the road and other road users.
"So many lives have been devastated by the terrible loss of our beautiful daughters.
"Our families' lives will never be the same again and we have to live with the loss for the rest of our lives.
"But it was avoidable - a few seconds of distraction whilst in control of a vehicle caused this nightmare.
"Every day we still see people holding and using their mobile phones while driving.
"Our appeal is for people to think long and hard of the potential life-changing consequences of their actions and never use their telephones while driving."
By Lisa Rowley