A HEARTBROKEN mother has spoken of her anguish after hearing how her son was killed by a speeding driver.

Nineteen-year-old Craig Borland was thrown 128ft through the air when he was hit by Ghulam Hussain, who was racing his father’s car on Ashton Road.

In the moments before the impact Hussain had been seen cutting in and out of rush-hour traffic before illegally hurtling down a bus lane at speeds of up to 70mph.

Craig was on his way to meet his mother in a nearby hairdressers.

Last week, Hussain, 28, was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving and sentenced to six years and banned from driving for five years. The father of two, whose address was given in court as Milnrow Road, Shaw, was a provisional driving licence holder. His full licence had been revoked after he was caught driving without insurance.

He had also been convicted of perverting justice after lying about his role in another accident.

In a statement to the court, Craig’s parents, Denise and Mark said: "We won’t be able to watch him grow and mature, attend his wedding or hold his children.  We are very angry that the person who did this will one day be free to walk the streets again.  He is still able to get married and have children. He is still around to enjoy his life when he has destroyed ours."

Speaking to the Advertiser this week, Denise, of Belgrave Road, said: "In a way I feel that justice has been done, he’s in prison, but six years is just not enough. And on top of this he will be allowed behind the wheel again in five years – he should never be allowed to drive again."

The sentence was handed out after a trial at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court.

The court heard that on July 27 last year, Hussain was driving the Nissan Primera when witnesses spotted him racing a blue Citroen Saxo along Ashton Road before roaring down a bus lane past a queue of slow-moving traffic.

Disaster struck further up the road as a bus driver was waiting in traffic to turn left. Craig was crossing the road when Hussain’s car emerged from the bus’s nearside and ploughed into him.

His head hit the windscreen and he was said to have been sent "twisting" up in the air before landing further down the street.

Craig, who would have turned 21 next month, suffered fatal head injuries and died four days later in hospital.

Hussain claimed he had not spotted Craig because another car had pulled out in front of him and he had to drive on the opposite carriageway and correct himself.

Experts said the speed of Hussain’s car at the point of impact was up to 55mph. The owner of the Citroen Saxo has never been traced.

A former Hathershaw pupil, Craig worked in Matalan and had just started working in a bar in Manchester – where he had recently moved into his own flat.

Paying tribute to her only child, Denise said: "Craig was a really friendly person, he was quite shy but had just started coming out of his shell. He loved decorating and would do anything for anyone.  Once, when I went on holiday, he decorated the whole bathroom as a surprise – he loved anything to do with arts and crafts and his ambition was to become a window dresser. It is not just the family who will miss Craig, he had many friends all of whom have lost someone really special."

Passing sentence Judge Andrew Lowcock told Hussain  "This was a grossly selfish and irresponsible piece of driving. You were racing another car at speeds of up to 70mph and Craig, who was a young man with his whole life ahead of him, never stood a chance.  I am not convinced your remorse is genuine. And nobody who has heard or read a statement by Craig’s family or seen them in the public gallery can fail to be moved by their grief and quiet diginity. They may say the sentence I impose is inadequate and this is quite understandable – no sentence I pass can bring back a life. Craig was greatly loved and will be greatly missed."