PARENTS of a North-East woman killed by a drink-driver have joined forces with a national road victims charity to call for tougher sentences.

It was a year ago this Tuesday when 30-year-old Susan Briggs was killed along with two friends when three-times drink driver Allan Jackson ploughed into them while fleeing police in Huddersfield.

Jackson was trying to evade police after being caught kerb crawling in the West Yorkshire town's red light district on August 28 last year.

He careered on to the pavement, killing Susan, of Gilesgate Moor, Durham City, Angela Ovington, 28, a teacher originally from Birtley, near Chester-le-Street, and 27-year-old Victoria Fisher, from Rochdale.

A fourth friend, Louise Tinkler, 29, from Chester-le-Street, narrowly escaped after leaping over a nearby wall.

Susan's parents, Pauline and Denis Briggs, have never got over the loss of their only daughter, but this week said they hoped something good would come of the tragedy.

The couple have just returned from a protest, with road accident awareness group Roadpeace, outside the Houses of Parliament. Their silent protest was designed to coincide with the August Bank Holiday, which along with Christmas, is traditionally a day of excessive drink driving.

She said: "None of us could imagine the depths of despair we've been to. On top of the grief is the injustice of Jackson's sentence. We've been told he will serve four years, four months of an eight year sentence.

"When he was sentenced the investigating officer said it was a good sentence the way the law stands in this country at the moment - that says it all."

The trio of friends were killed as they walked home from a night out after moving to Huddersfield that day. They never finished their unpacking.

The Briggs and Ovingtons, who have both thrown themselves into campaigning for more manslaughter charges against killer drink drivers, have had an appeal to introduce a US-style 'vehicle homicide' offence turned down by the former Home Secretary Jack Straw.

They hope a recent case where a drink driver was given 15 years - five more than the usual maximum - for wiping out two cars full of people, will set a powerful precedent for future cases.

Denis added: "We spent 30 years teaching our daughter to stick to the pavement. She did that and was still killed by this man. Why does the Government tell us to use the pavement, then not impose more serious sentences when a drink-driver kills someone on it?"

l The Roadpeace hotline, for anyone affected by issues in this story, is available on (0208) 964 1021.