A man has received a suspended prison sentence after admitting causing death by careless driving when he didn't have a licence and had never had a driving lesson.

Nathan Cooper, 33, of Vincent Close, Thetford, received a six-month custodial sentence, suspended for 18 months, and was disqualified from driving for 12 months following the incident in Feltwell in September 2021. 

Appearing at Norwich Crown Court on Friday (May 5), the 33-year-old was also given a Community Sentence Treatment Requirement for six months and a Rehabilitation Requirement for 30 days.

At around 10.15pm on Tuesday, September 28, 2021, Cooper, who only had a provisional driving licence, was driving a white Dacia Sandero when he crashed into 56-year-old Leslie Norton. 

Cooper failed to stop at the scene. 

Mr Norton was found lying in the road at the junction of Mulberry Close with serious head and leg injuries. 

He was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn, before being transferred to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, where he died on September 30, 2021.

The court heard how a member of Mr Norton's family found him lying in the road at around 11pm. 

Cooper told officers he left his partner's home in Mulberry Close at around 10.30pm to drive a friend home. 

On the return journey, when he was alone in the car, he "heard a thud" as he turned right into Mulberry Close. 

He initially thought he hit a dog, but when he didn't see anything, assumed the animal ran away.

He woke up the next morning to a police cordon at the scene of the crash and in an attempt to avoid being late for work, took an alternative route.

CCTV captured Cooper wiping down the front of the white Dacia Sandero the day after the collision.

On the afternoon of September 29, Cooper handed himself into the police and was arrested. 

Cooper said he considered himself a good and safe driver in an interview with police, despite having never taken any driving lessons or sat a practical driving test. 

Cooper pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to causing the death of Leslie Norton by careless driving in Feltwell. 

He also admitted causing death by driving a vehicle being unlicensed/uninsured, causing death by driving otherwise in accordance with a licence, taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent and failing to stop after a road accident.

Detective Inspector Dave McCormack, of the serious collision investigation unit, said: “This is a very sad case that has changed lives forever and it was wholly avoidable.

“Cooper should never have been driving. He will now spend the rest of his life in the knowledge that he has taken a man’s life and caused so much pain to so many people.

"Mr Norton’s family are heartbroken, and my thoughts are with them today.”

In a statement, Mr Norton's family said: “We would like to say a huge thank you for the wonderful efforts of the police in bringing the charges and case to where it concluded today.

“We would also like to thank everyone that has supported and helped us during this time, and continue to do so.

“No amount of time can ever bring back our loving husband, dad, son, brother, uncle and friend.”