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A drug driver who hit and killed a 10-year-old girl outside while she was out buying sweets is to have his prison sentence reduced. Lily Lockwood died after being struck by a car just metres from her home, in Stone, near Dartford, in 2021, as she went to buy sweets from the shop with her friends. She was taken to King’s College Hospital and was put on life support, but despite the best efforts of doctors, she died shortly after on July 12. Gavin Prodger was jailed in October 2023 after he pleaded guilty to causing her death in Watling Street while having excess drugs in his system, including cocaine. Prodger, of Beaulieu Rise, Rochester, was speeding in his yellow Audi S1 at the time. At his sentencing, the court also heard that he had been using his phone in the minutes before the accident on July 10, 2021 and had 57.8 gms of cocaine in the footwell of the vehicle. Defending, Neil Ross, said Prodger’s wife had left him, he had lost his home, was struggling with his mental health and had written a letter saying he was remorseful. However, Judge Philip Statman told him there was no genuine remorse and understanding about what he had done, stating that he had gone on to have two more convictions for drug-driving since the accident. He jailed the ex-taxi driver for 12 years with another two years on licence and banned him from driving for 17 years. But now, following an appeal to the Royal Courts of Justice, his sentence has been reduced to eight years and six months in prison with a 13-year and eight-month driving disqualification. Lily’s family attended the hearing on Friday (October 31), but her mum, Nicola Waters, said the verdict did not sink in until they had left the courtroom. She said: “I cannot really believe it happened, and I do not think it should have been allowed. We sort of knew there was a chance he could appeal. I thought he would not and just accept what he had done, but he did not. “I feel like Lily has been let down by the justice system. It is like she never got justice in the first place. I thought that part was over with, but now it has brought it all back.” The Brent Primary School pupil’s grandmother, Kim Wilkins, said that the judge reduced the sentence, claiming the previous ruling had been taken too far. Kim said: “It is a kick in the guts for us all. We were in total shock. They said he was really struggling in prison, and he only spoke to his son on the phone as he cannot bear him coming to visit. “He is lucky he gets to speak to his son, as he took that away from us with Lily. They were making him out to be a saint, and said he showed remorse, but he still killed my granddaughter.”
