TWO men have admitted their roles in helping a driver escape and try to cover his tracks after he ran over and killed a woman who was lying in the road.

Tinashe Chikoto, aged 22, was jailed for 22 months at Bolton Crown Court on Wednesday for hitting Louise Wolstenholme, aged 53, who had fallen over in Bow Street in Bolton town centre.

He struck her at around 10pm on January 31 in a Ford Focus and dragged her body for more than 100m into a side street.

READ: Our full coverage from earlier this week of Chikoto's sentencing for killing mother-of-two Louise Wolstenholme

Chikoto abandoned the car with the mother-of-two's body trapped underneath.

He made a call to the police to falsely report his vehicle had been stolen. He later retracted his claims.

Ms Wolstenholme's body was only found about hour and a half later when Chikoto returned with the police to the scene.

His friends Ludovic Mabiala and Nqobile Mariwandi admitted one count each of assisting an offender.

The judge heard Mabilia, aged 24, of Hypatia Street, Tonge Moor, sent text messages to Chikoto on the night of the accident saying: "Delete the conversations and text messages now. Everything. Your history and texts and things — everything."

Mariwandi, aged 26, of Patterson Street, Deane, drove Chikoto from the scene in a Toyota Avensis and took him to Mabilia's home from where Mabilia drove the killer home to Atherton.

There was no application for bail and Mabilia and Mariwandi were remanded back in custody until April 6 for sentencing.

University of Bolton student Chikoto was sentenced after admitting causing death by careless driving for which he was imprisoned for 16 months.

He also admitted causing death while uninsured, driving without insurance and perverting the course of justice, for which he received an extra six months in jail.

Ms Wolstenholme lived in Bury Road, Bolton, just a few doors down from where she ran a hair salon.