A teenage driver who admitted killing his best friend by dangerous driving has been spared jail after the victim's dad pleaded with the judge to treat him leniently.

The court heard how Nelson Draper-Smith, 19, lost control of his van on a notorious stretch of Stroud Road, Egham, and ploughed into a taxi.

Draper-Smith, of Bourne Road, Virginia Water, who was 17 at the time of the accident, was doing between 53 and 58mph in a 40mph zone when he braked in panic and couldn't avoid an oncoming Chrysler people carrier.

The two passengers in his van were brothers, neither of them were wearing seat belts. All three were thrown from the Peugeot 206 as it spun after the crash.

Sixteen-year-old James Loveridge suffered serious head injuries and later died.

Draper-Smith, who is deaf, pleaded guilty at Guildford Crown Court to causing death by dangerous driving, which normally attracts a custodial sentence.

But James's dad wrote to the judge and begged him not to impose a prison sentence saying he "has suffered enough by losing a close friend".

In a written statement he told how his family and the defendant's provided mutual support for each other and urged the judge not to impose a harsh sentence.

Prosecutor Ian Hope told the court: "Two brothers took a lift with the defendant. The deceased was in the rear load area of the van, unsecured and unrestrained.

"The driver should have driven accordingly to the passenger in the unsecured back."

Lisa Matthews, defending, said: "There are no aggravating features. The defendant was 17 at the time of driving and is now 19.

"He passed his driving test the previous March, had no previous convictions or cautions and held a full, clean, driving licence."

Judge Derek Inman said: "Given the circumstances, not least the age of the defendant, his previous good character, and his health, including his hearing problems, it is at the bottom end of the seriousness of this type of case and is sufficiently exceptional for me to impose a suspended sentence."

He adjourned sentence until March 29 for reports.