THE family of a North-East schoolgirl killed when a speeding police patrol car hit her last night paid tribute to a “lovely, bubbly girl” after the driver was found guilty of causing her death.

PC John Dougal was driving at 94mph without blue lights or sirens shortly before hitting Hayley Adamson, 16, in Newcastle’s West End last May.

After the guilty verdict was delivered yesterday, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said Dougal chose to take “totally unnecessary and unacceptable”

risks.

Hayley was with a group of friends when she stepped into the road as the marked Northumbria Police Volvo estate sped towards her.

The impact sent her flying through the air, killing her instantly.

Speaking on behalf of the family, the teenager’s aunt, Elizabeth Broom, said: “Hayley was a lovely, bubbly, loving girl, who was loved by everyone that knew her.

“It has been truly devastating for the whole family. They have been coping as best they can. You can imagine just how bad it has been for everybody.

It was just a terrible, terrible tragedy.”

Dougal, a qualified advanced driver, was travelling so fast he had effectively become a passenger in his own car, and had surrendered “to physics”, an expert witness told the jury.

But Dougal insisted he acted in accordance with his training and told the court he was driving safely, and the road ahead was clear as he followed a car.

That claim was denied by Assistant Chief Constable Jim Campbell after the conviction.

“PC Dougal did not drive in line with his training,” he said.

“He did not drive in line with our guidance and practice.

“He did not set out deliberately to kill Hayley Adamson, but he did have a serious error of judgment.”

The 41-year-old officer was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving following a five-day trial at Newcastle Crown Court.

The court heard that Hayley, dressed in a white tracksuit, was walking with a group of friends at about 11.20pm when she stepped out into Denton Road.

The court was shown footage from Dougal’s in-car video camera, including the moment the teenager was hit by the car and flung out of shot.

Dougal saw the girl and tried to brake and steer away from her, but could not.

Dougal was on night shift when his patrol car’s registration number recognition system alerted him to a suspect Renault Megane, which had just passed him in the opposite direction.

He turned the patrol car round, and sped up to a maximum of 94mph, slowed slightly as he crested a hill, then saw Hayley step into his path.

It was estimated the Volvo had slowed to about 70mph when it hit the teenager.

She had been drinking alcohol, which may have affected her decision-making, but the court heard it was notoriously difficult to judge traffic speed, especially at night.

The Megane was wrongly indicated to be suspicious and was being lawfully driven by a Czech man. Dougal said he did not want to alert the Megane driver that he was being pursued by putting on his sirens or blue lights.

Outside court, Gary Garland, the North-East Commissioner for the IPCC, said: ‘‘This incident was an absolute tragedy, particularly because it should have been totally avoidable.

‘‘PC John Dougal is a highly- trained police driver, yet he chose to take totally unnecessary and unacceptable risks and travel at high speed on a residential road.

‘‘Being a highly-trained police driver should never be used as licence to take unnecessary risks on public roads.

‘‘The actions of PC Dougal fell well below the standards we should expect of police officers.

His driving was highly dangerous – and had terrible consequences that he must live with for the rest of his life.

‘‘Hayley Adamson was a popular 16-year-old girl who was sitting her GCSEs and had the rest of her life ahead of her.’’ Dougal was remanded in custody to be sentenced on May 1.

Judge David Hodson said: ‘‘You must appreciate that the inevitable outcome of a conviction of an offence of this nature is an immediate sentence of custody.’’