What price is a life? Just £700 following the latest driving case debacle at a Sussex court.

Two drivers involved in a fatal crash walked free from Chichester Crown Court despite evidence they had been racing. Scott Smith and Neville Hepburn were cleared of causing death by dangerous driving by a jury.

Instead they were found guilty of dangerous driving. Smith was fined £300 and banned for one year while Hepburn was fined £400 and banned for two years.

Barry Dey was only 29 when he was killed almost two years ago in the horrific crash on the A24 in West Sussex. The two men had been driving at speeds of between 80 and 90mph near the Washington roundabout before Smith's car went out of control and hit Mr Dey's vehicle, which was going the other way.

It's true roadworks at the crash site had not been properly signed and this road needs better crash barriers. But nothing can excuse the appalling behaviour of these two men who were travelling at reckless speeds on a dangerous road.

It is extraordinary a jury could fail to convict them of causing death by dangerous driving after hearing the evidence. This case demonstrates the gaping hole in motoring laws which fails to provide a proper range of charges or penalties for the most serious offences.

The tragic death of PC Jeff Tooley at Shoreham led to our campaign for a change in the law. We shall not rest until it has been achieved.