A MOTHER whose daughter has been left brain-damaged and wheelchair-bound following a tragic car accident is calling for tougher punishments for dangerous drivers.

Ann Loader believes drivers convicted of traffic accidents should be ordered to spend time looking after car crash victims.

Her suggestion comes after her daughter Victoria, now aged 28 and who suffers from severe sight, speech, movement and memory problems, was awarded almost £3 million after winning a 10-year-battle for compensation on Monday.

The crash on May 30, 1992, in Market Weighton, North Humberside, also claimed the life of her 24-year-old brother Brendon and his wife's unborn child when their vehicle collided head-on with a minibus.

Victoria's boyfriend Ian Burfield died two years later from his injuries.

The Loader family, from Skylark Rise, Whitchurch, successfully sued the driver of the Ford Fiesta, Andrea Lucas, 33, from Scunthorpe, whose overtaking move caused the crash.

Her motor insurers admitted liability and agreed to pay £2.95m compensation.

Lucas was sentenced at York Crown Court in 1993 to a four-year driving ban, given 200 hours commun-ity service, and ordered to pay more than £400 costs, for causing death by dangerous driving.

Ann said: "I think people who are in traffic accidents like this, where it's proved that the accident was their fault and they are given community service, should spend those hours looking after people like Victoria. Then they would understand what they've actually done."

Still disappointed with the sentence, Ann said: "To me it's nothing for three lives, but I don't think she should have gone to prison."

Following the High Court settlement, the Loader family are looking to move to Portsmouth to better care for Victoria's needs.