THE driver of a coach which plunged down a ravine in South Africa killing 27 British tourists, including a North-East woman, has been jailed for six years.

Titus Dube, 42, was also banned from driving for six years at Lydenburg Regional Court after pleading guilty to culpable homicide for his role in the September 1999 tragedy.

Magistrate Dries Lamprecht said Dube acted with ''gross negligence'' when he pressed the accelerator instead of the brake pedal, sending the bus hurtling off a treacherous mountain pass.

The magistrate told Dube that relatives of the victims of the horror smash at Long Tom Pass would expect him to be punished.

Passing sentence, Mr Lamprecht said: ''A crime committed intentionally is obviously more reprehensible than a crime committed negligently.

''You should therefore not be treated as harshly as a murderer would be treated. On the other hand human life does not come cheap."

Dube, a father-of-five from Johannesburg, stood motionless in the dock as sentence was passed.

Mr Lamprecht said he rejected the views of both the prosecution and the defence, which said the tragedy was caused by a ''simple'' error and that Dube should get a suspended jail term.

Dube was likely to have been driving at a ''reckless'' speed along the twisting mountain road in the doomed coach's final moments.

Terrified passengers begged Dube to slow down as the coach hurtled along at speeds of up to 118kmh (73mph), but he claimed the brakes had failed.

''Survivors made it clear that the driver had apparently lost control of the bus and was battling to keep it on the road.

''One survivor realised the bus was out of control and they urged the accused to reduce his speed.

''The accused then informed them that he could not slow the bus down because the brakes had failed.''

The driver failed to familiarise himself with the controls and should not have relied on the brakes alone to slow down the out-of-control vehicle. He should also have used the parking brake as a last ditch method of bringing it to a halt, the magistrate said.

Twenty-six Britons and a South African tour guide died instantly in the crash, while another Briton died later in hospital.

Among the victims was scientist John Dartnell and his wife Margaret, of Middlesbrough.

Mrs Dartnell was killed in the smash and her husband was left in a wheelchair. Dr Dartnell has since remarried. Today he said: "I have started a new life and just want to put things behind me."

In passing sentence, the court took into account Dube's ''exemplary'' record in his 20 years as a driver and also his family circumstances as the head of a household with a wife and five children to support.

Mr Lamprecht had also noted Dube's remorse following the accident, which he showed when he fell to his knees and prayed during a visit to the crash site.

But he said the jail term was necessary to help in the ''healing process'' for the victims' families.

Updated: 15.01 Tuesday, April 3