A DRINK-DRIVER who killed his best friend in a high-speed crash was yesterday locked up for six years after being branded "dangerously idiotic" by a judge.

Christopher Howson told police he wanted to "wind up" the car owner and tragic victim, Gordon Quigley, by racing through the streets of Billingham, near Stockton.

Howson - who was best man at Mr Quigley's wedding in 2006 - had never passed his test and was not insured to drive his pal's vehicle, Teesside Crown Court heard.

The 29-year-old music student had probably drunk seven pints and two cans of lager before the late-night tragedy in Wolviston Road, Billingham, in April.

After overtaking and undertaking other cars at high speed, and driving "aggressively", Howson lost control of the Ford Focus, hit a central reservation and overturned.

His friend - a Lance Corporal in the Army, based at Catterick Garrison, in North Yorkshire - was in the front seat, and died of massive head injuries.

In a moving victim impact statement, his widow, Katie, said she cannot bear to look at their wedding photographs, which show her smiling husband and his killer.

Judge Simon Bourne-Arton QC, told Howson he had "utterly destroyed" the lives of Mrs Quigley and her two children, and said: "You knew you were driving dangerously."

He added: "You set out to drive at excessive speed, dangerously, and to show off in order to wind up Mr Quigley, and you ignored warnings to slow down.

"Obviously, no sentence I can impose upon you can do anything to relieve the grief that Mr Quigley's widow, his family and his many friends now endure.

"They will have to bear the dreadful burden of the untimely loss of their loved one, and you will have to continue to bear the burden of the knowledge you were responsible for killing your close friend."

The court heard how the pals and another man had been drinking as they watched football and the Grand National ahead of Lance Corporal's six-month tour to Afghanistan.

Sue Jacobs, prosecuting, said that Howson was passed the keys throughout the day, and seemed to be given them on the night because he was the least drunk.

After the crash, as passers-by came to help, hysterical Howson screamed: "I've killed him. I'm f***ed, here, I'm f***ed . . . What have I done. I'm so sorry."

In an interview with police after giving a reading of almost twice the legal drink-drive limit, he admitted he had been driving "like an idiot" to wind up Mr Quigley, 26.

Peter Makepeace, mitigating, said: "Genuinely, this is a case where one could bankrupt the English language in trying to express the regret and remorse he has for his actions.

"He knows he must receive punishment for what he has done, and he knows he deserves it.”

Howson, of Bosworth Way, Billingham, was also banned from the roads for five years after he admitted causing death by dangerous driving and excess alcohol.

Mrs Quigley told in her statement how her 12-year-old son is receiving counselling and has worries about how her three-year-old daughter will cope.

She revealed that her future employment prospects - she had been studying a degree course,but had to give it up - have been harmed by the tragedy.

Lance Corporal Quigley's parents, Jacqueline and Gordon, and his sister, Amy, also told of their grief and the impact his death has had on them.

The family released a statement which said: "Gordon was a loving father, husband and a very much loved son, brother, grandson and nephew.

“He was loved by all who knew him.”

Lieutenant Colonel Philip Kimber, commanding officer of 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire), said he “loved his job and was particularly good at it”.