His driving killed two young boys but it was his behaviour afterwards that shocked and appalled all those who came across him.

From his victim’s families to police to court staff, Jack Hart was a despicable character who thought nothing of his young victims or the appalling suffering he had caused. The judge found his behaviour fuelled by self-pity.

At Hull Crown Court yesterday, Hart, 32, was jailed for killing best pals Steven Duffield and Mason Deakin on the Anlaby Road flyover in October 2020. The deaths shocked the local community and floral tributes remain pinned to the busy roadside where the crime took place. Steve’s parents paid tribute to their dearly loved son, “a true social butterfly” who “should be here doing the things he loved”.

But there was also anger and disgust at Hart. “His attitude throughout the 27-months of this investigation shows he has a total lack of empathy or respect for anyone but himself,” they added.

And as Hart, from West Hull, was sent down for nine years, we can report the cowardice, aggression, breath-taking arrogance and insensitivity which had been the hallmark of his behaviour from the moments after the crash to the final court appearance.

Steven and Mason had been riding on a bicycle along a busy stretch of Anlaby Road near the East Yorkshire buses garage when the crash happened at 6.06pm on October 19, 202. Mason was doing the riding and Steven was sitting on the handlebars. They were heading against the flow of traffic and towards Hart. Speeding at almost 60mph in a 30moh zone and undertaking a line of traffic heading onto the flyover Hart careered into the boys in his boyfriend’s powerful BMW. Steven and Mason stood no chance.

Both were rushed to Hull Royal Infirmary but Steven died 50 minutes later. Mason was transferred to Leeds paediatric intensive care unit where he remained in a coma and on life support. He died two weeks later, with his family by his bedside.

In the minutes after the collision, Hart somehow managed to remove and dispose of the dashcam in the BMW which would have been the damning evidence of his driving before the incident.

Hart gave a negative alcohol test but he had smoked cannabis the night before. From his first interviews with police, he was aggressive and told them: "You're full of s**t, man. I didn't even do anything." He claimed that he had been "arrested for nothing".

He lied to police and denied driving in a dangerous or erratic way. He denied getting rid of the dashcam or trying to dispose of it and denied smoking cannabis the night before. He gave many "no comment" answers to police but told them: "You certainly haven't got it right, have you? - but no comment.." When he was charged, he said: "It's wrong. Leave me alone."

He dragged out the case until the day before there was due to be a high-profile trial and, even on the day that he finally changed his pleas to guilty on the two charges of causing death by dangerous driving, he swore at a police officer outside court, casually chewed gum while he was in the dock and later acted aggressively towards custody officers.

Hart's defiance and arrogance at earlier hearings had shown a complete disregard for the families of the two boys who had died. He is known to have been one of the most difficult defendants that the police have had to deal with for death crashes because, normally, such drivers are mortified by what they have done and are keen to act in as sensitive and tactful a way as possible.

But this was not the case with Hart who, from the very outset, seemed determined to be as difficult and lacking in any compassion as possible. When he first entered his not guilty pleas, he conducted himself in a particularly arrogant way and defiant way, brazenly swaggering into the dock with a face like thunder and entering his pleas in a surly and unnecessarily forceful manner.

He gave the impression that he was outraged at even being in court. It was no surprise that his attitude appalled some of the bereaved family members sitting in the public gallery just a few feet away. Shouting and swearing broke out and one man was understandably so incensed that he got up, said "That's f***ing outrageous" and made another expletive-filled comment before walking out of court.

After that hearing, Hart put on the green anorak disguise that he had brought with him to court. He did so unashamedly in full view of the bereaved families who were sitting and standing on the court concourse.

He pulled his anorak hood over his head before defiantly walking down the stairs, accompanied by supporters, and was bundled into a vehicle that had been parked on the edge of the court area next to the road.

Hart arrived at and left the court wearing a black mask and an anorak hood over his head in a further lack of sensitivity. When a short report on a further hearing of the case later appeared in the Hull Daily Mail, including with it a photograph of Hart outside court, he angrily telephoned the newspaper and, in an aggressive and foul-mouthed rant, demanded that the picture be removed. His bad-tempered and angry tone continued until he abruptly ended the call.

He rang back a few minutes later, apologising for his aggressive attitude but still demanding that the story and picture be removed. Everything continued to be all about him.

Last year, Hart allowed court time to be taken up for the pre-recording of the cross-examination of a 14-year-old witness, taken as part of the proceedings ahead of the scheduled trial. This prolonged matters for the families while he insisted on maintaining his not guilty pleas.

An email, apparently written on his behalf, was sent to the court claiming that the report on Hull Live of the latest court hearing was illegal because the case was supposedly "sub judice" and should not have been covered at all because of the ongoing status of the trial process.

This email was shown to the judge involved but, because there was nothing unusual or wrong about what had been published, no action was taken by the court.

The matter was later raised in court but Judge John Thackray KC rejected the formal complaint, saying that Hull Live had "done nothing wrong" in reporting the early stages of the case in the usual way that is allowed.

Hart's arrogance even continued on the day that the case was listed "for plea" the day before the scheduled trial - a hearing where he would be indicating that he would be changing his pleas from a firm and forceful not guilty to guilty to causing Steven and Mason’s deaths.

But, by his actions, he made clear that he was doing so apparently grudgingly and against what he really wanted to do. Instead of displaying a changed attitude of thoughtful consideration for the feelings of the many members of the bereaved families who were there, he sidled past one of the police officers and muttered "f***ing w*****" in the hearing and sight of others.

In the courtroom, his surly attitude continued as he chewed gum while in the secure dock in a further sign of a fundamental lack of sensitivity. When he was refused bail, he curled his lip and stared defiantly straight ahead towards the judge. He was later led away to the cells looking fuming and aggressive.

He became very difficult with the custody officers and they asked the judge for him to be brought into court wearing handcuffs for the sentencing hearing. Judge Thackray refused this but only because it was a secure dock.

He said that he rejected the claim that Hart was remorseful and said that his "aggression and disdain" for the police showed otherwise and that his only true emotion was "self-pity".

Even his own lawyer acknowledged Hart’s behaviour. Charlotte Baines said his demeanour and attitude might have come across as someone who "could not care less that his actions took away the lives of these two boys".

"He has clearly struggled to express that appropriately during the course of the investigation and the proceedings themselves." Hart might have come across as having "quite a cavalier, unsympathetic response". But she insisted this was not how he truly felt. "He has been deeply affected," said Miss Baines.

As he was jailed, Judge Thackray KC condemned Hart’s behaviour. “Your only true emotion has been self-pity”, he said. His condemnation was later joined by relatives of the boys and the police.

As he was led down to the cells, Hart didn’t look back. Perhaps he was finally unable to face the seething contempt in the courtroom for his arrogant, cowardly behaviour.

https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/child-killer-jack-hart-swaggering-8101893