Jailed, the businessman who sped through a pedestrian crossing and killed a beloved father and his dog

A businessman has been jailed after he accelerated over a pedestrian crossing at 20mph over the speed limit, killing a pensioner and his pet dog. Ben Trigger, 29, was convicted following a trial last month of causing death by dangerous driving.

Trigger, who had twice previously been banned for drink-driving, was at the wheel of his Ford Ranger pick-up truck when it struck Abdelkader Dhrif, 70, on the A580 East Lancashire Road in Worsley, Salford, at 3.30pm on November 20, 2019. Abdelkader and his pet dog, Maisie, died.

Today (Monday) a court heard about the devastating impact of the tragedy on the family of Mr Dhrif, a grandfather from Boothstown known affectionately as Tony, before Trigger was handed a prison sentence.

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Mr Dhrif was on the crossing with his dog while it was on red for pedestrians and green for motorists at the junction with Ellenbrook Road and Newearth Road. But following a trial last month a jury convicted Trigger, of Merton Grove, Astley, Wigan, of causing his death by dangerous driving after two hours of deliberations. He was accelerating at the time and was travelling at 60mph, 20mph above the speed limit.

In his defence, Trigger told his trial: "All I know is I believed I was doing the speed limit, I was with the flow of traffic

"I don’t believe I was doing anything that was dangerous or unsafe." Trigger said he had travelled to Manchester city centre to get some trousers altered, before returning to his home in Wigan .

Peter Cadwallader, prosecuting, read out a series of victim impact statements penned by heart-broken relatives of Mr Dhrif at the sentencing hearing at