A GRIEVING father has told of his family's continued heartbreak a year after his son was killed by a drink driver.

Ben Andrews, 19, died on May 7 last year following a horrific head-on crash on the A354 near the Pimperne roundabout as he drove his friends home.

Laura Haskell suffered several fractures, including to her spine, and Aaron Wicks, who was also a passenger in the car, suffered seat belt injuries resulting in trauma to his stomach.

The driver of the other car, soldier Benjamin James Southall, 20, was later jailed for 32 months for causing his death by careless driving when under the influence of alcohol.

Now, as the annual summer drink driving campaign gets underway, Ben’s family, from Blandford, have told of the devastating effects this senseless tragedy has had on their lives.

For dad Paul the event could not have been more harrowing. He was at the scene after receiving a text message from Ben’s friend, and held his son as he lay trapped and dying in the car wreckage.

As a result he has suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, making him unable to return to work as a driver for Wessex Water for months. Even now driving after dark is difficult and brings the memories of that terrible night flooding back.

He told the Echo: “I still wake up having nightmares about it – cold sweats. It plays like a video in your head 24/7. I’ve learnt ways to cope with it – but it’s still there, every second”

His decision to go alone to the scene while wife Sam stayed with their other children is also something which haunts him, he added: “I was fortunate in some ways being at the scene of the accident that night because I got to see him one last time – and Sam didn’t. That’s a mistake I’ve got to live with.”

The knock-on effects on the family have been enormous. He and Sam both needed time off work, both “still cry every day.” Molly, now 10, suffers with nightmares, and the thought of 16-year-old Harry learning to drive “is terrifying” for them.

But Ben’s friends, particularly best pals Aaron Wicks and Shaun Marlow, who spend time with the family regularly, have helped them cope.

“The thing that gives you the strength to get on is how these young kids have dealt with it. They’ve show us such respect and shown such maturity – it’s an inspiration,” he added And the memory of a son who would kiss his mum goodbye and tell her he loved her every morning, and who was a trusted ‘agony aunt’ for his many friends will live on.

“I’ve never met anyone who had a bad word to say about him, while he was alive and after he died. He was extraordinary,” added Paul.

Paul is a passionate advocate of the anti-drink-drive message, and appeared on ITVs Daybreak at the end of May in the hope that his family’s experience would make others think twice about getting behind the wheel after they have been drinking.

He added: “I like to think that if people know how much pain and grief is caused, not just in that instant, but on and on down the line, that they might not do it. If me talking about it stops just one person – that could be a life saved.”