The mother of two young boys who were killed when a drugged up serial criminal ploughed into them at twice the speed limit has demanded immediate action to toughen sentences for such crimes after the driver was jailed for just nine years.

Louise Platt-May said she did not blame the judge for the fact that Robert Brown “got off lightly”, and called on the Government to deliver on promises to introduce stiffer penalties “as soon as practically possible”.

Just released from prison and on a cocktail of drugs, Robert Brown mowed down Corey and Casper Platt-May, aged six and two, on February 22.

The boys were with their mother in MacDonald Road, Coventry, at about 2pm when Brown’s Ford Focus ploughed into them at more than 60mph in a 30mph zone.

A forensic officer at the scene where Robert Brown's black Ford Focus was found abandoned
A forensic officer at the scene where Robert Brown’s black Ford Focus was found abandoned (Aaron Chown/PA)

In a statement read to Warwick Crown Court by their father Reece Platt-May on Friday, their mother said: “My heart is broken – my heart
is broken and time will never heal this.

“I love my boys with all my heart, and they will never be forgotten.”

She added: “Every minute, I picture their faces on the road.

“The sound of the car hitting them.

“Their faces will stay with me for the rest of my life.”

The grieving mother, saying her two surviving boys were still grappling with nightmares recalling what they also witnessed that day, said: “This monstrous
act has destroyed me.”

Their eldest brother, Connor, said in a statement read to court: “Corey and Casper were really good brothers and they were very talented.”

Brown, 53, who fled the scene, admitted all charges against him last month, including two counts of death by dangerous driving, driving while disqualified,
using a motor vehicle without insurance and using a motor vehicle without a licence.

Coventry hit and run
Serial criminal Robert Brown, 53, jailed for just nine years (West Midlands Police/PA)

Brown also tested positive for cocaine after his arrest and had taken anti-depressants diazepam and zopiclone as well.

A driver recalled seeing him overtake them on the busy road, “driving like a madman” while another eyewitness said he was “absolutely flying”.

Brown’s passenger Gwendoline Harrison, 42, had previously admitted a charge of assault intending to resist arrest after she hit a member of the public as the pair tried to flee the scene.

She was jailed for six months for the attack, which happened near the scene of the collision.

Brown, of Attwood Crescent, and Harrison, of Triumph Close, both in Wyken, Coventry, showed no emotion as they were both jailed on Friday.

Judge Andrew Lockhart QC jailed Brown for nine years for each count of causing death by dangerous driving , to run concurrently, four months for disqualified driving, and banned him for 15 years.

He told Brown: “Your selfish and reckless driving has torn this family apart.”

In a statement released by her lawyers Irwin Mitchell afterwards, Mrs Platt-May said: “We don’t blame the judge for the sentence he imposed, but what today has highlighted is that those who rip families apart seem to be the ones who get off more lightly.

“Robert Brown showed a total disregard for the law when he got behind the wheel that day.

“Because of him we are living a life sentence knowing we will never see our boys grow up, whilst he will be out of prison in just a few years and will be free to continue his life.

“We will never come to terms with how Corey and Casper were taken far too soon.

“Our only hope now is that some good comes out of their deaths through the introduction of tougher punishments for drivers who think they are above the law.

“We call on the Government to honour Corey and Casper’s legacy by ensuring its proposals are made law as soon as practically possible.”

Brown, who has never held a driving licence, has 57 convictions for 207 offences.

During a court appearance two days after the deaths, he hurled abuse at magistrates, twice shouting “This is a f****** kangaroo court” and calling the chairman of the bench a “f****** prick”.