A DRIVER whose speeding led to the deaths of a driver and passenger in a minicab has expressed his remorse before he is jailed and urged other “idiot” motorists in Bradford to slow down.

Ismail Miah will be sentenced later this month for his role in a three-vehicle crash on Shipley Airedale Road that killed Manningham Taxis driver Mirza Abdul Malick, 64, and his passenger, former antiques restorer Paul Hayward, 55, shortly before 11am on Saturday, January 2 this year.

Last month, Miah, 23, of Springfield Place, Manningham, and Muhammad Sikder, 27, of Sylhet Close, Manningham, appeared at Bradford Crown Court and pleaded guilty to two charges of causing death by dangerous driving.

Judge Jonathan Durham Hall warned the pair they will be locked up and remanded them on bail until the sentencing hearing.

Miah has now urged all drivers to think of the consequences of their actions - and has backed the Telegraph & Argus Stop The Danger Drivers campaign.

He also apologised to his victims’ families and said in future he wanted to go into schools to warn children of the dangers of speeding.

“I recognise a lot of bad driving since the accident,” he said. “To be honest, I think ‘what an idiot’. You look at it and think ‘bad move, bad decision, why are you doing it?’ It is unnecessary.”

He added: “They need to, in order to understand consequences, see someone go through the consequences. Weigh it up - is it worth putting your foot down for these consequences.

“People need to speak to someone like myself. Then they can understand.

“Stop driving like idiots. Think before you put your foot down.”

On his victims’ families, Miah said: “There are no words that can describe how sorry I am to them. I can only say I am sorry.

“There is nothing I can say that they would accept. They have lost someone.

“I feel 100 per cent remorse. I find it hard to explain.”

Miah, who said he and his friends had donated a well in Pakistan in Mr Malick’s name, said he wanted to see an end to dangerous driving in Bradford.

“I want to help with this campaign,” he said. “I back the campaign because of the victims.

“It is worthwhile. I think it needs to keep going until bad driving has completely gone.

“I would be happy to go into schools and explain my story and what putting your foot down can cause.”

Miah, who attended Titus Salt School in Baildon before working in HR and payroll jobs for a number of companies, told how he and Sikder had raced at speeds of up to 70mph for about seven seconds before Sikder’s BMW ploughed into Mr Malick’s Proton cab.

Miah, who was driving a Range Rover, hit Sikder’s car before he pulled over further down the road.

Earlier that morning, he said he had been woken by friends who were having breakfast at a restaurant in Leeds Road.

“I got up, got in the car and went for breakfast,” he said. “We then got into each other’s cars. My plan was to leave the car at the car wash at the top of Leeds Road, but it was closed.”

When they reached the bottom of Leeds Road, Miah and Skider turned right into Shipley Airedale Road.

Miah said: “He has put his foot down and then so did I.

“It was a stupid moment, the biggest mistake of my life. It was just a moment of madness.”

Miah said he dialled 999 before getting passers-by to help as well.

“I didn’t realise the seriousness of the accident until I had actually gone to the scene. It was awful,” he said.

“I felt like crying when I saw the state of the accident.”

Miah was arrested and taken to a police station.

He added: “In interview they told us the people had passed away. That was when it really hit me.

“It was shocking. I didn’t know what to say or what to do.”

Miah said he used to see Mr Malick quite often.

“He has given me lifts in the past,” said Miah. “He gave my sister lifts to work.

“It added to it for me. Anyone passing away is bad enough, but that I had seen him and used to see him on a regular basis made it worse.”

He added: “I have closed myself off from a lot of people. It is hard to face them.

“I am going to have to live with it - I haven’t got a choice. Life does not always go the way you want it to.

“Even though I didn’t hit that car, but because I played that role in it, it is as bad as hitting that car.”

Family friend Aminur Chowdhury, 32, said he was supporting Miah, whom he said was suffering from depression.

“If I genuinely thought he had a bad bone in his body, I wouldn’t be here,” he said. “Ismail’s sadness and vulnerability have been noticed by his family, his neighbours, his community, including myself. He has apologised to all of us.”

He added: “We do not want to influence or upset the judge. He [Miah] genuinely wants to be a device to make people not drive dangerously.”