TWO MEN have been sent to prison after they killed an eight-year-old boy after stealing a car.

Gary Reader, of Newbridge Road, Tiptree, was today sentenced to six and a half years in jail for driving dangerously.

The 32-year-old had taken a Porsche Carerra 911 from a Kwik Fit garage where he worked in Maldon for a drive without permission on January 15 last year.

A short while later the car hit Ryan Fleming, eight, on the A414 Heybridge Approach. Ryan died in hospital.

Timothy Smith, 19, of Washington Road, Maldon, who was a passenger in the car, was also sentenced to 12 months behind bars and disqualified from driving for two years.

He had previously admitted a charge of aggravated vehicle taking.