A mum who killed her two young sons in a head-on crash after choosing to drive with an underinflated tyre has avoided prison.

Judge James House KC said the “ability to exercise mercy” was part of his judicial function as he handed nursery worker Amy Sheppard a 20-month suspended sentence at Lincoln Crown Court .

The 29-year-old’s Vauxhall Astra “fishtailed” on a bend due to a badly underinflated rear tyre , the court heard.

The then car crossed into the wrong carriageway and hit an Audi travelling in the opposite direction.

The Audi driver, his wife and her brother all suffered serious injuries and were rushed to hospital after the crash, with two of them suffering life-threatening injuries.

Sheppard’s sons Louie and Mason Ellis, aged eight and six, suffered fatal injuries despite being restrained in appropriate safety seats in the rear of the Vauxhall.

Passers-by including a motorist, a scooter rider, two nearby residents and others rushed to help at the scene on the A52 near Sutton-on-Sea, Lincolnshire, in October 2023.

Judge House praised the members of the public who had stopped to help, saying: “For those members of the public to immediately go to the aid of others and be met with the scene they faced showed real courage and compassion and I commend all of them for their selfless actions.”

Sheppard, of Mumby Road, Huttoft, was driving within the speed limit at the time of the crash and was on her way home. Her car had no other defects, the court heard. A motorist driving behind her Astra had noticed the tyre was “soft” and was “almost expecting something to happen”.

Judge House told the court that he accepted Sheppard, a nursery nurse, was “an inherently kind and giving” individual who would have to “carry with her for life that her careless actions resulted in the death of her two children”.

In his sentencing remarks the judge accepted that although the tyre was found to have a pressure of just 5psi, it was likely to have had a higher pressure at the time of the crash.

Sheppard had asked someone to check the tyre a day before the incident, but they had mistakenly tested the pressure of a front tyre, which had previously deflated.

The judge told Sheppard: “That miscommunication or misunderstanding between them was to lead to catastrophic consequences.

“The following day she accepts she was aware there was still a problem with the tyre. What was a normal working and school day ended in an absolute tragedy.”

A “non-decision” to take the car to a filling station was careless, the judge said. Sheppard had admitted two counts of causing death by careless driving and three of causing serious injury.

Whatever sentence I impose will not alter what has happened,” the judge said, adding that he was suspending the prison sentence due to the minimal risk of further offending and in the interests of a dependant relative of Sheppard.

Sheppard was also sentenced to a two-year driving ban and instructed to complete 12 months of treatment for mental health issues caused by the trauma of the crash.

She will also have to undertake 35 days of rehabilitation activity.

In a victim impact statement read to the court by prosecutor David Eager, the father of Mason and Louie, Laurie Ellis, said: “I am here today because my two precious boys lost their lives in a car crash.

“Even now I can hardly believe it is real. They were my pride and joy. They should be here today.

“Instead I am left with silence, grief and memories that are far too short.”

Mr Ellis alleged in his statement that Sheppard, who was also badly injured, had shown no remorse and he would never understand and never forgive the risk taken before his sons’ deaths.