Image copyright Merseyside Police Image caption Driver Aidan McAteer, left. and passenger Dean Brennan, right, ran past Violet-Grace Youens as she lay injured on the ground

A man has been jailed for the hit-and-run death of a four-year-old girl who was struck by his speeding car when it mounted a pavement in Merseyside.

Violet-Grace Youens died after Aidan McAteer's car struck her on Prescot Road, St Helens, on 24 March.

McAteer, 23, fled to Amsterdam but later pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving at a hearing at Liverpool Crown Court.

He was given a jail sentence of nine years and four months.

Violet-Grace's grandmother Angela French was seriously injured in the crash and remains in hospital.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The family of a four-year-old Violet-Grace Youenshave released a video of her

The four-year-old's family wore violet ribbons and heart badges for the court hearing.

Reading a personal statement in court, Glenn Youens said he cuddled his daughter's teddy bear, which "still smells of her", every night and reads bedtime stories to her ashes.

"I cry myself to sleep. I miss her so much," he said.

Image copyright Family photo Image caption The donation of Violet-Grace's organs had saved two other lives, her family said

Dean Brennan, 27, a passenger in the car, had pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking and assisting an offender. He was jailed for six years and eight months.

Both men were given driving bans for when they leave jail. McAteer was banned for 10 years, while Brennan received a six-year ban.

The court heard the Ford