A MAN who was jailed for killing a father and son in a road crash has been given his driving licence back.

Geoffrey Donnison was locked up for two years in December 2002 and banned from driving for four years after he was found guilty of two charges of causing death by dangerous driving.

But just over two years after he was sentenced, Donnison was back at Teesside Crown Court yesterday to apply for a suspension to his disqualification.

The Recorder of Middlesbrough, Judge Peter Fox, QC, who had been the judge in his trial, allowed Donnison his licence back.

He told the 39-year-old: "You have served your punishment and I am confident that the experience which led to tragic death on that occasion will never leave your memory.

"You are basically a decent, hard-working man. You need to pursue your rehabilitation and get back to work, and for that I am satisfied you need your driving licence."

Martin Robinson, 45, and his son, David, 23, both from Gainford, near Darlington, were killed in the head-on crash on the B6275, near Piercebridge, County Durham, in November 2001.

Donnison, of Castleside, Consett, County Durham, had been driving a Mercedes van on the rural road, and overtook another vehicle on the brow of a hill.

The van and a Ford Capri, driven by Mr Robinson, collided. Mr Robinson died at the scene and his son died in hospital four days later. Three people in the van were injured.

Following the trial, Judge Fox recommended the introduction of clearer signs indicating the blind summit and new road markings at the accident blackspot.