But he was only given the minimum sentence because the prosecution could not tell Judge Peter Morrell how the youngsters, from Wellingborough, had coped with their injuries.

Jason Sinfield, 29, admitted dangerous driving and driving without insurance or a licence after injuring two boys as he reversed his Ford Escort in Ashfield Road, Wellingborough, on August 5, 2003.

Judge Morrell, sitting at Northampton Crown Court yesterday, heard how Sinfield, who held a provisional driving licence, had been installing stereo equipment in his vehicle at about 7.45pm while two brothers, aged three and eight, sat on the kerb behind the car.

Prosecutor Michael Ellis said: "The defendant had left the car with the left-hand-side wheels mounted on the pavement and the two boys came over and sat two feet behind the car to watch.

"Sinfield shut the boot and told the boys 'I'm going to back down the street so you should go away now.'

"He then shut the bonnet and reversed the vehicle at some speed and for some distance, not making checks other than to look out of his windows.

"The children had not moved and they were run over, leaving them trapped under the vehicle and causing serious significant injuries."

Witnesses said the vehicle travelled at up to 20mph, with a prosecution expert calculating a minimum speed of 7.8mph.

The court also heard how Sinfield reversed further than necessary, aggravating the injuries.

Asked why Sinfield failed to appear in court in August 2004, defence counsel Fergus Gow said: "He admitted the offence when the case was first in the magistrates court and when he later moved to London it was with the police's blessing. In a short space of time his mother was evicted and ended up in a hostel with him, where she suffered a series of strokes and his grandfather died; these caused him to bury his head in the sand.

"However that does not lessen the real remorse he feels."

Judge Morrell hit out at the prosecution service, saying: "I strongly criticise the CPS for not bringing these injuries to the court. The defendant will receive a lighter sentence than he would have done as I have to assume the boys made a full recovery."

Sinfield, of Hounslow, London, was given six months, of which he has already served two, and was disqualified from driving for 12 months.

Witness Richard Murphy, 52, said after the hearing: "I am disgusted he's got such a short sentence. If those were my grandkids I'd want him locked up for years."