Casper and Corey Platt-May deaths: Coventry driver found dead in cell Published duration 26 December 2018

image copyright Family handout image caption Casper Platt-May (left) and his brother Corey were on a family trip when they were killed

A driver who killed two brothers in a hit-and-run crash while high on drugs has been found dead in prison.

Robert Brown, 53, was jailed for 10 and a half years for killing Casper Platt-May, two, and Corey, six, as they crossed a road in February.

He had previously been jailed for possessing a machete and was let out on licence six days before the crash.

Serco, which runs HMP Dovegate, confirmed a prisoner had been found dead on Christmas Day.

Brown was jailed in April after admitting causing the boys' deaths by dangerous driving, and had his sentence increased in July from nine years to 10 and a half.

Casper and Corey were with their mother Louise on the way to a park when they were hit by Brown's Ford Focus as they crossed MacDonald Road in Coventry.

image copyright West Midlands Police image caption Robert Brown was found dead in his cell on Christmas Day

Brown, who had 30 previous driving convictions, had never had a driving licence and was banned from driving at the time of the crash.

West Midlands Police's Collision Investigation Unit calculated that Brown, who had taken cocaine, diazepam and zopiclone, was driving at more than 60mph.

At a plea hearing , the court was told Brown, of Attwood Crescent, Wyken, and his passenger Gwendoline Harrison had tried to flee the scene on foot but members of the public attempted to stop them.

Harrison, 42, of Triumph Close, Wyken, hit someone who intervened. She admitted a charge of assault intending to resist arrest and was jailed for six months.

A spokesman for Serco, which manages the prison where Brown had been serving his sentence, said: "We can confirm a prisoner died [on Christmas Day] at HMP Dovegate and, as is normal, the death will be subject to a coroner's investigation."