Gripping BBC documentary reveals painstaking investigation into crash death of Paulsgrove teenager

A web of lies spun by two cousins are swept away by traffic officers featured on the BBC documentary Car Crash: Who's Lying? as they probe the death of Luke Fletcher on the B2177.

The 19-year-old former Fareham College performing arts student was killed when a Nissan Almera, driven at up to 100mph by unlicensed Zax Ross-Harris, crashed into trees January 2016 near Southwick.

Driver Ross-Harris was jailed for eight years at Portsmouth Crown Court while his cousin and passenger Dannylee Ross-Barringer, who owned the car and was friends with Luke, received six years.

Never-before-seen police footage reveals the moment police arrived with Danny claiming he was the driver and asking a police sergeant for a hug.

Interviewed on screen, Luke's mum Sarah Hiscutt, 46, gives her reaction to the investigation as it progresses.

Sarah told The News: 'It was really, really difficult reliving and it took me a year and a half to actually decide to do it.

'What actually made me decide to let them go ahead and do it was Luke was always out for helping other people in whatever way he could and I know if Luke had been here today he would be there helping them.

'He's not here to do it, I will do it for him.'

But her hope is the gripping dramatisation will deter dangerous drivers from the roads.

Watching police interview dad-of-two Ross-Harris - who laughed and joked through his first court appearance - was particularly hard for Sarah.

'I didn't like watching those bits,' the mum-of-three said.

'But it's part of the documentary and if it helps just one person's family not have to go through what we've had to go through it's of benefit - if just one person stops to think.'

Sarah is still supporting her 24-year-old daughter Robyn, who has communication difficulties, and Luke's brother Adam, 26.

'Luke is very much missed,' she added.

Accounts of the crash from the two cousins changed throughout the year-long police investigation.

Critical evidence is uncovered through forensics, with an account from badly injured passenger Sonny Wedge who survived the horror crash. The show will be broadcast on the digital channel BBC Three on November 15, with a screening on BBC One at a later date. Ross-Harris, 24, of Allaway Avenue, Paulsgrove, previously admitted causing death by dangerous driving, causing serious injury to Sonny by dangerous driving, causing death while driving unlicensed, and while uninsured.  Ross-Barringer, 27, of Ludlow Road, Paulsgrove, admitted aiding and abetting the following: causing death by dangerous driving, causing serious injury by dangerous driving, causing death by driving unlicensed, and while uninsured.

Superintendent Simon Dodds, from the Joint Operations Roads Policing Unit for Hampshire and Thames Valley Police, said: '˜As a roads policing team we are stern advocates of improving driver behaviour on our roads. In doing so we know that we can reduce the number of people that are needlessly killed or seriously injured. Sadly the emergency services are called to such incidents all too frequently, many of which we know could be prevented if only more care was taken.

'˜This particular tragedy reflects how an everyday evening unfolds so terribly, the subsequent impact to all those involved, and the depth and aptitude of the police investigation. It also serves as a reminder of the consequences of careless behaviour on the roads, particularly amongst young drivers and has the potential to make people think twice about their own driving behaviour on the roads.'