Man City youth player jailed for killing two in crash

Jailed ... Courtney Meppen-Walter

A MANCHESTER City youth player wept in court as he was jailed for 16 months for killing a brother and sister while speeding in a Mercedes.

Courtney Meppen-Walter, 18, was at the wheel of his grandfather’s “high-powered” Mercedes C220 saloon and doing nearly double the 30mph speed limit when he hit a Nissan Micra emerging from a side street, Manchester Crown Court heard.

The Nissan driver, Kulwant Singh, 32, from Salford and front-seat passenger Ravel Kaur, 37, from Cheetham Hill, Manchester, were both killed.

Moments earlier, the player had been “jockeying” and “playing games” with a friend in a VW Golf along a nearby dual carriageway.

Sentence ... Courtney Meppen-Walter

After the smash, a witness told police: “That’s what you get when you mess around on roads.”

Meppen-Walter got out of his car and tried to help the injured, waving his arms and saying: “What have I done?”

The former captain of the England Under-18 side who played 17 times for his country will serve half his sentence in custody but may be freed earlier on an electronic tag.

Mr Singh’s widow sat in the public gallery, with an interpreter relaying the proceedings, and wiped away tears.

The brother and sister victims arrived in the UK in 2001 to start a new life after fleeing persecution by the Taliban, the court heard.

Ms Kaur’s sons aged 16 and 17 were both back-seat passengers and were injured in the crash in central Manchester at about 10.15pm on September. They are now orphans, as their father was killed in Afghanistan.

Meppen-Walter had one previous conviction for speeding - doing 56mph in a 30mph zone.

Dressed in a dark suit and overcoat, he was in tears as he went into the dock continued crying as he was jailed.