THEIR driving was dangerous, suicidal, reckless and totally mad'.

As they careered along a country road at high speed overtaking dozens of cars, Hampshire brothers Bradley and Marcus Barney showed little or no respect for other road users.

Today though the boy-racer brothers from Bishop's Waltham are waking up behind bars after admitting causing the death of bride-to-be Carol Tegg when they forced her to swerve into an on-coming bus.

The collision left her car almost unrecognisable and started a massive fireball that claimed the 26-year-old's life just four days before she was due to wed.

More than 25 passengers on the bus also had to flee for their lives after the blaze spread and engulfed their vehicle.

Yesterday as the sobbing pair were jailed for a total of 15 years, the court heard how both had also fled the scene after the horrific collision, and that both had failed to register their cars in a bid to avoid detection.

As the Barney brothers admitted causing Carol's death by dangerous driving when they appeared before a judge at Oxford Crown Court, Judge Julian Hall heard how they had changed their pleas to guilty after a member of their own family - their grandfather - died in a road accident involving a speeding driver.

The tragic accident happened last summer as Carol Tegg was heading home from work in preparation for her big day.

She had been overtaken by the brothers travelling in a Peugeot 307 and a Volkswagen Golf on a dangerous country road known locally as the "13 bends of death."

As they went past, their driving startled her and caused her to swerve into the path of the bus, the impact of which ruptured the fuel tank of her Citroen Saxo car starting the fireball.

Marcus Barney, 23, who now lives at Dale End Close in Hinckley, Leicestershire admitted failing to supply information and driving without insurance. His brother Bradley Barney, 24, from Battery Hill in Bishop's Waltham, admitted failing to supply information, failure to stop and failure to report an accident.

The brothers had just visited another brother, Curtis, at Reading Young Offenders' Institute along with their father, Andrew, and decided to race along the notorious A4074 between Reading and Oxford.

The court heard how the brothers overtook up to 40 vehicles over a seven-mile distance, sometimes speeding past three cars at a time on blind bends and at speeds of up to 70mph.

Statements from other motorists passed by the pair described their horror at the driving and said they feared for their safety.

Prosecutor David Robinson told the court: "What caused the drivers to drive as they did is not known to the Crown.

"What is clear, is that the Barneys took it upon themselves to drive their cars in a manner which was dangerous, suicidal, reckless and totally mad."

Mr Robinson then told the court how both men tried to cover their tracks after the accident.

Bradley Barney instantly cancelled his insurance and Marcus put his vehicle in storage.

In mitigation both of the young men opted to address the court. However, Miss Tegg's relatives walked out while they made their tearful pleas. Sentencing Bradley to eight years and Marcus to seven years, Judge Hall described the pair as "habitual racers" and said the death of Miss Tegg near Woodcote on July 31 last year was "waiting to happen."