Shane Bradley Pearce jailed after drinking for TEN HOURS before crash that killed Lauren Prothero and Paige Ward

A Perth driver who was drunk and speeding when he drove through a red light and ploughed into another car, killing two young women, has been jailed for 11 years.

Shane Bradley Pearce, 50, had multiple drink-driving convictions and was unlicensed when he caused the death of physiotherapist Lauren Prothero and special needs teacher Paige Ward, both 27, in a horror crash last May.

He then left the scene without assisting the women before being arrested at a nearby shopping centre.

Pearce, who pleaded guilty to unlawfully killing the friends, was sentenced in the WA Supreme Court on Wednesday.

The court heard he had been drinking with a co-worker for most of the day – around ten hours – after his scaffolding job was called off early due to…