A mother-of-four was killed instantly after being hit by a drink-driver as she walked home from a night out with her husband.

Christine Fraser, 46, was thrown through the air and into the forecourt of a car dealership just yards from her home.

She had left a local pub with her husband Graham just minutes before.

Mr Fraser was struck by a glancing blow from the car but his wife died at the scene.

The teenage driver, Daniel Meredith, who was on holiday in the UK from Sydney, Australia, fled the scene after the accident.

Meredith, who had been to a pub and was about one-and-a-half times over the legal drink drive limit, initially claimed the car had been stolen when he arrived at his father's house in Cherwell Road, Heathfield.

He later admitted he had been behind the wheel.

Meredith, 19, looked tearful as he stood in the dock at Lewes Crown Court and admitted causing death by dangerous driving.

He was warned he faces a jail sentence.

Police said they hoped the case made other young people think twice about getting behind the wheel after drinking alcohol.

Inspector Steve Grace, of Sussex Police, said: "I am pleased he has had the decency to plead guilty and accept what he has done.

"No sentence that the court will impose will compensate the Fraser family for the loss of Christine.

"I hope this makes other youngsters think before getting behind the wheel of a car when they have been drinking."

Friends and family members of both Mrs Fraser and Meredith were in court to see him plead guilty on what was due to be the first day of his trial.

Meredith was driving his dad's Proton and had been out for the night when the crash took place at about 11.20pm on August 29 last year in Robertsbridge, near Battle.

He was driving along Station Road when he lost control of the vehicle, hit a telegraph pole and mounted the kerb.

He drove on to the pavement outside a car dealership, just as Mr and Mrs Fraser were walking by.

Mrs Fraser, a hairdresser who was well-known in the village, was a mother of four children aged 11 to 23 who had been married for 26 years. She lived in Glenleigh Walk, Robertsbridge.

Meredith, who has no previous convictions, had passed his driving test in Australia and was legally insured to drive his father's car.

The case was adjourned for sentence until February 16 and Meredith was remanded in custody.

Judge Richard Brown told Meredith a custodial sentence was inevitable because of the seriousness of the offence.

Mrs Fraser’s family released a statement after her death.

It read: "We would like to thank all those who helped at the scene of the accident, to both friends and strangers who rendered first aid and helped in the moments after the crash.

"We thank Sussex Police family liaison officers who have been of immense help during the past few days and the press for their sympathetic coverage.

"A large thank you to everyone within the local community who have expressed their support and sent messages since the accident. We also would like to thank the Darwell Bruderhoff community for all their help and support, which is greatly appreciated.

"This tragic accident and Christine's untimely death has touched and affected so many lives and our thoughts are with those who have been affected, as we all come to terms with what has happened."