A WEBSITE has been set up in a bid to push for changes in the law after the hit-and-run driver who killed Burnley tot Levi Bleasdale was given a 12-week jail sentence.

The family of the tot have backed the move for a new Road Safety Bill in the hope that it will raise the profile of their cause.

Nancy Kimble, of Rosetti Avenue, Burnley, has created the on-line petition after hearing of the tragedy.

She said she sympathised with the Bleasdale's after her six-year-old daughter Caitlyn was injured in a hit-and-run accident outside their home 10 months ago.

She said: "My daughter got knocked down in May last year. The driver was 18 and had no insurance and no road tax and was given a two-year ban, which is nothing.

"Fortunately my daughter survived, she had horrible facial injuries and is now petrified of roads. When I heard that the driver who killed little Levi's had only been given 12 weeks I couldn't believe it.

"It's sending out the wrong messages. The kids round here think they can just get in a car and drive without a licence because they are not being punished properly."

She added: "I contacted the family to ask if they would mind me setting up a site and they gave me their blessing so I would urge people who feel that this sentence was too lenient to sign the petition.

"It will be presented to Burnley MP Kitty Ussher who will take it to the relevant Government minister and hopefully the law will be changed."

A new Road Safety Bill currently before Parliament will create a new offence of causing death by careless driving, with a penalty of up to five years' imprisonment.

The new law was proposed following an Evening Telegraph-backed campaign after Blackburn girl Amy Houston was killed by a banned driver in 2003.

The Bill will also create a new offence of causing death when driving while unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured, with a penalty of up to two years' imprisonment.

Levi died in an accident close to Burnley College in Ormerod Road last September.

Mohammed Hussain, 26, of Thurston Street, Burnley, admitted careless driving, failing to stop at the scene of an accident and failing to report an accident. He also had no driving licence.

Mrs Ussher has since written to Home Secretary Charles Clarke about the prison sentence.

Today Levi's granddad, Michael Ryan, said: "We think this is really good. The website will hopefully raise the profile of this issue. Anything that gets people aware and interested in our cause for changing the law is welcome."