A MAN who supplied drugs to his son who then died in a road crash has been spared jail.

But sticking to a drug rehabilitation order will be harder for Shaun Packer than going to prison, says the mother of Danny Packer.

Valerie Lind, who has been campaigning for 18 months to get justice for her son, killed in a car crash in November 2003, says she is sure Packer will "mess up".

Packer, 40, was sentenced to an 18-month drug treatment and testing order. He had admitted supplying heroin to his son Danny, 18, the day before he died in the car crash on Marine Parade, Sheerness.

Judge Michael Lawson QC said at the sentence hearing that Packer "contributed substantially" to Danny’s death, but claimed the order was not a soft option.

After Packer, of Victoria Street, Sheerness, previously admitted supplying Danny with the class A drug on March 14, the judge said he had in mind a custodial sentence of four months.

But Ms Lind, who split from Packer when Danny was three, said once she had time to think about it, this was the better sentence.

She said: "The judge could have given him four months but I think that would have been a softer option. He’s already served time on remand so would have come out immediately.

"This way he’s a drug addict in an environment where drugs are rife so this will be 10 times harder for him to stick to."

Ms Lind, of Manor Road, Rushenden, says she also handed the judge a letter detailing everything she felt about the case and Danny.

"It’s something I had to do. I had to let the judge know exactly what I was thinking and what this has done to the family. I really think he took that into consideration when passing the sentence," she said.

"We got justice for my Danny when Shaun admitted that he gave him the drugs and that’s all I’ve ever wanted."