Food tycoons' son is jailed for baby crash

The son of a Black Country millionaire couple was jailed for 21 months today for causing a crash which left a baby brain damaged and in need of 24-hour care.

Antonio Singh Boparan, aged 21, and the son of food suppliers Ranjit and Baljinder Boparan who own the West Bromwich-based Two Sisters Food Group, was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court for dangerous driving after he ploughed into a jeep which was carrying 11-month-old Cerys Edwards in Sutton Coldfield in November 2006.

Cerys, now aged two, remains unable to breathe without a ventilator.

Judge Frank Chapman told Boparan: "I am taking away a small part of your life but it is a fraction of what you have done to Cerys and her family.

"This was an aggressive piece of driving and showed an arrogant disregard for the safety of other people."

Boparan, of Roman Lane, Little Aston, was 19 when he drove his mother's high performance Range Rover at around 70mph along a 30mph road and lost control.

A number of people were injured in the crash, including himself.

Prosecutors were able to gather evidence about his speed thanks to a hi-tech German airbag system fitted to the Range Rover, which helped estimate Boparan's speed at the time of impact.

The case is believed to be the first in the UK to use such a system as evidence in a prosecution.

The court heard Cerys remained on a life support machine and would never be able to walk or talk again.

Judge Chapman said: "Her life and the lives of her parents have been utterly ruined by what you did.

"You were driving a very, very powerful car. I have heard that sort of car described has a tank with a sports car engine."

The maximum sentence for dangerous driving is two years. Judge Chapman said he has taken into account Boparan's good character and the fact that he was not a "young hooligan with convictions for violence".

Boparan was also banned from driving for five years and ordered to pay prosecution costs by selling his only asset, his Audi car.