A driver who killed his best friend in a car crash has been returned to prison after the Court of Appeal increased his sentence from six months to two years.

Bryan Daniel, 25, was found guilty of causing the death of Nikko Robinson-Woodley by dangerous driving following a Supreme Court trial last October.

During his trial, the court heard that Daniel was driving along Harrington Sound Road in the early hours of January 4, 2014, when the car left the road and struck a tree.

Mr Robinson-Woodley, who was in the passenger seat, died as a result of the injuries suffered in the collision, while Daniel remained in a coma for the next three weeks with severe injuries.

Daniel told the court he had no recollection of the collision or the days leading up to it. However, prosecutors argued that Daniel would have been travelling in excess of 90km/h.

After his conviction, Acting Justice Charlene Scott banned Daniel from driving all vehicles for a period of five years and sentenced him to six months in prison.

But the Department of Public Prosecutions appealed against the sentence on the basis it was low. The Court of Appeal agreed with the DPP and released their judgment yesterday.

Sir Scott Baker said: “In the present case in my view the judge’s starting point of five years was rather too high and three to four years would have been more appropriate. There was only one aggravating feature albeit a serious one in the grossly excessive speed at which the respondent was driving — almost three times the speed limit at night.

“The mitigating factors are his good character, the shock of having killed a close friend and his injuries and medical condition.”

The president of the appeal bench added: “I have no doubt that the sentence of six months was manifestly inadequate. It does not reflect society’s abhorrence at the taking of a life by driving a vehicle at nearly three times the speed limit.

“Taking all these matters into account, I would replace it with one of two years’ imprisonment.”