Mia Howarth, the 21-year-old driver who killed her teenage boyfriend in a North Yorkshire crash, has had her prison sentence increased from three years to four and a half years by the Court of Appeal.

The ruling on Friday followed an intervention by the Attorney General, who referred the original sentence after arguing the three-year term handed down in March was "unduly lenient" and failed to punish the offender or deter others.

The fatal collision occurred on 12 September 2023 near Brimham Rocks, a National Trust site close to Harrogate. Howarth, who was 18 at the time of the crash, was driving a Peugeot 107 along a rural road carrying three 17-year-old male passengers.

York Crown Court previously heard that Howarth was travelling at 35mph while listening to "thumping music" and had filmed her 17-year-old boyfriend, Alfie Lovett, hanging out of the front passenger window. She subsequently lost control of the vehicle, which veered off the road and crashed into a dry-stone wall.

Lovett, from York, was caught between the wall and the car. Despite passers-by attempting CPR at the roadside, he died at the scene from fatal chest injuries. The court heard he had become a father just 12 weeks before the crash.

Howarth, of Cooperative Street in Horbury, admitted causing death by dangerous driving. The court was told she had informed police that she warned the boys they had to wear seatbelts and noted it would be "her fault" if they took them off during the journey.

Delivering the Court of Appeal judgment, Lord Justice Popplewell—sitting with Mr Justice Linden and Mrs Justice Hill—concluded that the original sentencing judge had made legal errors when calculating the length of the custodial term.

Lord Justice Popplewell said: "We agree the judge fell into error in the way he applied a reduction for youth." The panel also ruled that the original judge was wrong to reduce the term based on poor conditions in UK prisons, adding that there was only limited mitigation in the delay before charges were brought.

During the hearing, Kelly Brocklehurst, representing the Attorney General, stated: "We acknowledge there was a significant amount of mitigation, but ultimately it was a sentence that had to punish the offender and deter further acts." The court heard Howarth had been "embedded" in the Lovett family and had been a good influence on Alfie.

Legal representative Parsons told the court that the delay in bringing charges was unacceptable, noting that Howarth had admitted causing Lovett's death at the roadside. Howarth appeared at the appeal hearing via video link from HMP Low Newton near Durham and sobbed as the proceedings took place.

The Court of Appeal's ruling concludes the review of the sentence length, confirming she will serve the extended term. I'll be following this one — check back for updates.