FAMILIES mourning the death of two young men killed in a car crash said the driver should never be allowed on the roads again.

Friends and relatives of Matthew Preece, 21, of Lindfield, and Marc Martin, 22, of Haywards Heath, who died in hospital from their injuries, said they hold driver Kyle Witney wholly responsible for their deaths.

Witney, 21, of Finches Lane, Lindfield, was jailed for six years on Friday and banned from driving for seven years from the date of his release after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving in November.

He was on drugs and speeding when his BMW left the road at 10pm on December 17, crashing into a tree and landing on its roof in High Beeches Lane near Handcross.

Police believed the trio of friends had been out partying that night and he drove at between 80 mph and 100 mph in the 60 mph limit. Tests revealed Witney had cannabinoids – compounds commonly found in cannabis – in his system.

Police said he had been driving “extremely fast” on the dark, winter night.

He was treated in hospital after the crash and took to social media to express his devastation at losing the "older brothers he never had" before he was arrested.

He said he never wanted the crash to happen and urged people to confront him rather than making stupid rumours. He claimed the crash was due to a fault with the car.

Mr Preece’s mother Sarah and her husband John Cunningham said they held Witney “totally responsible” for the deaths.

A statement said: “Kyle Witney has taken dangerous driving to a new horrific level.

"He has shown no remorse or sympathy towards our families and now has to live with the consequences of his actions.

"He should never be allowed to drive again. He has demonstrated his inability to drive in a safe manner and has killed two people as a result of his actions.

"No sentence will ever compensate the families' loss."

Mr Martin’s family said: “This process has taken far too long to get justice for Marc and without their support we wouldn't have been able to get through it.

"He has shown no remorse for his actions that night - and up until this day - that killed our amazing brother Marc and his amazing friend.

"He has torn apart our family, especially his two beautiful boys Taylor and James, who are having to face growing up without their amazing daddy.

"No sentence would have been long enough because he has given us a life sentence without our beautiful brother.

"We are pleased this process is coming to an end so we can finally start grieving in peace as a family, and try to learn how to get through life without our brother by our sides, who we miss with all our hearts."

Sergeant Clare Kenward of Sussex Police said it was a "tragic and needless loss of life.”