Hobbs, 21, was convicted of causing the death by dangerous driving of Oxford Brookes University student Sarah Westwood, 20, after an all-day drinking session. He was jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Hobbs, whose parents are friends of the Duke of Edinburgh, was more than three-and-a-half times over the drink-drive limit when he knocked down cyclist Miss Westwood on Oxford's Cowley Road last April.

She died of her injuries 13 days later.

Miss Westwood came to Oxford from her home in Barnstaple, Devon, and was in her second year of study for a degree in education. After the hearing, her parents Ian and Anne Westwood, said that their daughter had been a caring, thoughtful girl with a keen sense of humour and many friends.

They added: "We are trying to come to terms with the outrageous curtailment of her life. This has devastated every member of the family. The world of education has lost an understanding and compassionate voice."

The court heard earlier that Mr and Mrs Westwood had written a letter to Hobbs' tutor to say that they had forgiven the student for his actions. Sentencing Hobbs, Judge Anthony King said: "There can be no doubt of the tragedy of the case before me. First of all, the most important tragedy is that by your own stupidity you have brought to an end a young life and secondly, and with no good reason, by your stupidity you have put a great scar on your future."

The court heard that the fatal accident happened just after midnight on April 24 after Hobbs had been out drinking with a group of friends in the Oxford Blue pub, in Marston Street.

David Bright, prosecuting, said: "The VW car being driven by this defendant at speed, left the road, struck and fatally injured a young woman who was pushing her bike along a cycle path." He added that witnesses estimated he was driving of speeds of up to 70mph in a 30mph zone.

He said: "He told police the drinking had started at lunchtime."

The court heard that Hobbs, a former pupil at Ampleforth, the prestigious Catholic college in Yorkshire, had written to Miss Westwood's parents apologising for the death crash, but the letter was never sent.

John Alban-Williams, defending, said that Hobbs wrote he was clinging to the hope that Sarah had gone to 'a better place' and that he could not begin to express his remorse for such a tragic waste of life. Judge King ordered that Hobbs be disqualified from driving for six years.

Following the case, Hobbs' father, retired Maj-Gen Sir Michael Hobbs, who is a friend of the Duke of Edinburgh, and his wife Tessa, said in a statement: "On behalf of our family, we wish to express to Mr and Mrs Westwood and their family our heart-felt sorrow and regret over the death of their daughter, Sarah, and the pain they must feel as a con- sequence."

Sarah's friend, Jessica Hayes, said after the tragedy: "Sarah's parents don't want to live an unforgiving life but they do want to tell people about the dangers of drink-driving.

"I will remember her as an inspiration. Her funeral was amazing. More than 1,000 people were there - and yet Sarah only came from a small town in Devon." William Hobbs, who was in his second year of a hotel and restaurant management degree, withdrew voluntarily from the university.

Oxford Brookes spokesman Gill Sanders said of Sarah: "While she was teacher-training she was posted to one or two schools in Oxfordshire, where she was very popular with the children."

She said the university would re-double its efforts to spread the message about the dangers of drink-driving.

Story date: Saturday 05 February

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