THE teenage son of a hospital consultant, who knocked down and killed a young girl while speeding, escaped with a fine of just £500 yesterday.

It is the third North-East case in a week where justice has been exposed as a sham:

* On Monday, Mark Hobson, the former binman who killed his girlfriend, her twin sister and a defenceless old couple appeared at Leeds Crown Court.

The jury heard that, in February 2003, he had only been put on probation for two years and was given 100 hours community work after stabbing a man so savagely he almost died.

Hobson used that freedom to slaughter four people.

* On Wednesday, serial rapist Clifford Church was in the dock. And it was revealed that he had been locked up for eight years - for raping a 16-year-old girl - but had been released two years early. He went on to repeatedly rape a married woman.

Church got a life sentence this week - but will be able to apply for release after just four years.

This travesty comes at a time when the main political parties are trying to bolster their law and order credentials - with latest figures showing a nine per cent rise in violent crime.

The teenager who walked free from a court yesterday was Christopher Mitchell, 19, who pleaded guilty to careless driving.

He was also disqualified from driving for two years and ordered to pay £200 costs after magistrates said it had been a "momentary lapse".

The ten-year-old girl was knocked off her bike as she crossed the A167 near Durham, and died in hospital the next day. The court was told Mitchell was travelling at least 15mph over the speed limit just before he collided with Laura Burrows-Schofield, at a traffic refuge south of the Neville's Cross junction last year.

According to experts, had he been within the 40mph speed limit, he would have been able to stop without hitting her - and even if he had collided with the cyclist, it would have been a "very minor" accident.

Laura's parents, Stephen and Jackie, from Darlington Road, Durham, said they felt let down by the justice system. Last night, they joined calls for the introduction of a new charge of causing death by careless driving.

After the hearing at Consett magistrates, Mr Schofield said: "No sentence will ever bring Laura back.

"We have always believed as a family that this was death by dangerous driving."

Mr Schofield added: "The charge of driving without due care and attention does not identify the death, and to lose one's daughter and not have her death recognised is very painful."

The family was backed by the road safety group Brake, which has been campaigning for ten years for tougher sentences. A Brake spokesman said: "We want to see the complete scrapping of the charge of careless driving if there has been a death or injury."

Lesley Kirkup, prosecuting, said a witness had followed Mitchell's turbo diesel VW Golf from the junction and had seen him accelerate "slightly quicker" than him. He later saw smoke coming from the Golf's tyres.

Pedestrian John Thompson said he heard screeching and saw smoke coming from the Golf's tyres as it collided with the girl. Mitchell was heard repeating: "I just didn't see her."

Ms Kirkup said that, based on skidmarks and other evidence, forensic investigator Graham Greatrix had calculated Mitchell had been travelling at least 55mph when he braked - and 48mph at the moment of impact.

Interviewed by police, Mitchell, of Blaidwood Drive, Durham, said: "I was going down the road and saw a little girl on a bike, and the next thing I knew the windscreen was out and I stopped as quickly as I could."

Paying tribute to his daughter, Mr Schofield said: "She was heavily involved in anti-bullying and was a proud to be a school buddy.

"She liked to try and keep the peace with everyone. She loved cycling and exploring the woods. She wanted to be either a nurse or nursery nurse. She was a wonderful wonderful little girl."

A theatre nurse at the University Hospital of North Durham, Mr Schofield said he worked with Christopher Mitchell's father Rob, who is a consultant anaesthetist.