Driver of £1.2m Ferrari in crash that killed boy is jailed

THE DRIVER of a £1.2m Ferrari which crashed at 50mph while he was “showing off”, killing a 13-year-old boy, has been jailed for 18 months.

Matthew Cobden, inset, of Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, was yesterday sentenced at Winchester Crown Court for causing the death by careless driving of Alexander Worth.

He was also banned from driving for two years and ordered to take an extended retest.

The trial heard that the 39-year-old gave the youngster a ride in the Ferrari F50 at his car storage premises in North Warnborough, Hampshire, but the car “accelerated uncontrollably”, hitting a fence post which launched it into the air, throwing the pair from the vehicle.

Judge Keith Cutler criticised Cobden for not making the boy wear a seatbelt.

He said: “Knowing that he had no seatbelt on, you drove far too fast, even demonstrating a lack of due care as you drove off from the concrete apron on to the road.” He continued: “You decided to put your foot down, the Ferrari was unnecessarily in second gear, it could have been in first gear, and you put your foot down in order to provide a thrill for Alexander. “You were showing off, that is the explanation for the accident and its consequences. “In accelerating such a powerful vehicle, you lost control of it”. Robin Sellers, defending, said that his client had “exhibited significant remorse”. The court heard that Justin Smith, who supplied car batteries to Cobden, had brought his partner Arabella Worth, and her son, Alexander, to make a delivery on the day of the accident on August 22, 2016. Cobden, who blamed the crash on a “latent defect”, offered to take Alexander for a ride after Mr Smith asked if they could take a photograph of the supercar.