A CREWE man faces years behind bars after he was convicted of causing a devastating car crash which killed two young fathers.

Ioan Harding, aged 21, of Ford Lane was told that a lengthy prison sentence is inevitable after he was found guilty of causing the deaths of Adam Chadwick and Stephen Hicks as he raced Mr Hicks along Middlewich Road last May 27.

Following a six-day trial, a jury at Chester Crown Court took around four hours to unanimously convict Harding of two counts of causing death by dangerous driving.

Mr Chadwick's family packed the public gallery and wept as an ashen-faced Harding learned his fate at Tuesday lunchtime.

Mr Justice Roderick Evans adjourned the case for pre-sentence reports but told Harding: "You should not have any misunderstanding about the report. You face an immediate and lengthy term in custody."

The trial heard that Harding and close friend Mr Hicks were racing each other along Middlewich Road as they headed towards Nantwich to pick up friends.

Witness Kenneth Saxon told the court that Mr Hicks was driving on the wrong side of the road for around three-quarters of a mile at excessive speed as the pair raced.

Mr Hicks lost control near Alvaston Hall and crashed head-on into Mr Chadwick, an innocent bystander who was driving in the opposite direction. Both men died in the collision.

The smash was so catastrophic that Mr Hicks' white Ford Mondeo ripped in half, with the front and engine travelling 42-metres beyond the crash scene.

Mr Hicks' girlfriend Kerrie Highfield told jurors that her boyfriend and Harding had raced before along Middlewich Road at speeds of over 90mph, saying they claimed to be doing it 'for a laugh'.

Throughout the trial, Harding denied racing, speeding and driving dangerously, saying Mr Hicks was trying to overtake him normally when he lost control.

An application for bail by Harding's defence team was refused. He has been remanded in custody for sentence on July 28.

Outside court, Crewe traffic Sgt Steve Griffiths said: "The main thing to stress is that there are no winners in this case.

"We're satisfied with the result. It has been a year of investigations and the families are overwhelmed as you could tell by the gasps.

"Hopefully it will be a lesson that using roads as a race track will not be tolerated and the only outcome will be a collision where everyone loses."