The family of Luke Armstrong say an appeal will be filed this week against his conviction for death by dangerous driving.

The 25-year-old, originally from Lincolnshire in the UK, was convicted on Friday of killing Winston (Yogi) Burrows in a crash on South Road in Warwick.

He was also convicted of injuring two passengers in the car Mr. Burrows was driving and being at the wheel of a truck without a licence.

The truck went onto the wrong side of the road in the early hours of April 5, hitting the car which erupted into flames with Mr. Burrows trapped inside.

Armstrong, who was employed on a work permit by Arctic Air Conditioning at the time of the crash, declined to take the witness stand to give evidence in his own defence. His parents, David and Teresa, flew to Bermuda to support him during the trial and returned to England over the weekend.

They told their local newspaper, the Scunthorpe Telegraph: "Luke declined to speak at the hearing because he went into shock after the accident. It is up to the prosecutor to prove he is guilty."

Armstrong appeared to show little reaction when the verdict was first delivered but became emotional as he apologised to the court during his sentencing hearing.

His father told the The Telegraph: "The lad was beside himself at the hearing. Everyone is painting him as a monster. He is not. He is not coping but he will have to. He was very upset when we went to see him on the Saturday — he could not believe the outcome."

He added: "We are having lots of support from our family, in particular our daughters and Teresa's sisters and other family and friends. Natasha Drant, Luke's girlfriend, is also devastated. She has flown out to see him a few times and will be going to see Luke very soon. We have been overwhelmed with the amount of support from Luke's friends and residents of Bermuda."

Armstrong's lawyer Saul Froomkin could not be reached for comment.