By OLIVIA ALLHUSEN, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER

Published: 01:35 GMT, 10 January 2026 | Updated: 01:43 GMT, 10 January 2026

A 27-year-old woman who killed a couple and left their toddler son orphaned in a head-on crash while hurrying to a beauty salon has been spared a prison sentence.

Laila Barnard-Wigley was driving a black Mercedes GLA in torrential rain when her car crossed onto the wrong side of the road and collided with a Peugeot carrying Dean Yarrow, 33, and his partner Faye Wardle, 32. 

The couple were pronounced dead at the scene following the collision in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, on May 7, 2021.

Their two-year-old son, who was travelling with them, suffered serious injuries.

Barnard-Wigley was initially charged with causing death by dangerous driving, but those charges were later dropped. 

She subsequently admitted two counts of causing death by careless driving. 

The court heard she had been in a hurry to reach a beauty salon at the time of the crash, where she intended to sell makeup, when her vehicle is said to have aquaplaned in what were described as 'biblical' weather conditions. 

Her Mercedes is said to have crossed onto the opposite carriageway after aquaplaning, colliding head-on with the couple's Peugeot as they travelled in the opposite direction. 

Laila Barnard-Wigley was driving a black Mercedes GLA in torrential rain when her car crossed onto the wrong side of the road and collided with a Peugeot carrying Dean Yarrow, 33, and his partner Faye Wardle, 32

Barnard-Wigley was said to have been 'in a hurry' to get to a beauty salon to try to sell some makeup to the owner

The impact forced the Peugeot into a nearby field, leaving both Mr Yarrow and Miss Wardle fatally injured. 

Victim impact statements were read out at Hull Crown Court as Barnard-Wigley was sentenced.

Mr Yarrow's mother told the court she believed she had previously understood grief, but said she had 'never known so much pain', adding that her world had been 'destroyed'. 

She said she put on 'a brave face' each day simply to cope, but described feeling numb and 'broken beyond repair'.

'It has been a very difficult four-and-a-half years since we lost Dean and Faye,' she said.

Miss Wardle's father told the court that the 'silence is deafening' in his home since the deaths, adding: 'My life at home is a very sad one.'

Her sister described Miss Wardle as 'the person I looked up to', telling the court that both victims were 'the life and soul of any party'. 

She added: 'It feels like part of my identity has been taken. I know that I am not the person I used to be.' 

Her Mercedes is said to have crossed onto the opposite carriageway after aquaplaning, colliding head-on with the couple's Peugeot as they travelled in the opposite direction. Pictured: Barnard-Wigley in 2023