THE parents of a three-year-old boy killed by a female van driver are distraught after she was cleared of dangerous driving – despite admitting texting seconds before hitting him.

Young Clinton Pringle, from Lanarkshire, was on a family holiday in Jersey when he was hit by a VW Transporter as he crossed the road on the way to a park.

He died three days later in Southampton Hospital from ‘catastrophic, non-survivable injuries’ last summer.

Van driver Rebekah Le Gal, 39, was charged with causing death by dangerous driving after police found she sent a ‘trivial’ text to her son just before the crash.

A court heard that she had just read a message from him asking for his grandmother’s phone number.

Phone records showed she texted back with the grandmother’s phone number 12 seconds after reading the message.

The Royal Court in Jersey heard that Clinton’s mother Stacey and aunt Melissa Anderson ‘screamed’ and waved their arms in a desperate bid to alert Le Gal as the youngster crossed the road.

Le Gal admitted sending the text when she was interviewed – but claimed it had not distracted her and described it as a “measured act”.

Advocate Matthew Jowitt, defending, claimed she had sent her reply 16 seconds before the crash.

He said that was an ‘awfully long time’ for his client to still be distracted from ‘simply pressing send on a text’.

Mobile phone expert Mark Rigby told the court the text message could have been delayed as she had 33 or 34 apps open on her phone at the same time.

Jurats Michael Liston and Jane Ronge took less than two hours to acquit Le Gal of causing death by dangerous driving.

She had previously admitted the lesser charge of death by careless driving and will be sentenced for that next month.

Outside court Clinton’s parents Michael, 50, and Stacey, 29, said the family from Chryston, Lanarkshire, were “shocked” and “gobsmacked” by the verdict.

He said: “We won’t be able to pick up the pieces and move on. We will forever be stuck in June 2016.

“Anyone who had the pleasure of meeting Clinton will remember what a wonderful child he was. Nothing will ever compensate for his loss at such a young age.

“The facts of his death are now down on record for all to see.

“The most obvious fact is that Rebekah Le Gal had plenty of time to see him and stop safely and should have. But she didn’t.

“It’s been absolutely horrific especially for Stacey and Melissa (Clinton’s aunt) who have relived this almost every day as it is.

“It’s been an absolutely horrendous time for all of us but especially for them. For me, it was the first time I had seen the fine details of what happened and I think people can make their mind up.”

Police said after the verdict: ‘We note the decision of the court in this particular case.

“However we continue to remind all road users that using a mobile phone whilst driving is dangerous.”