THE widow of a Hampshire man killed in a horrific late night crash says she has been left with a life sentence while the driver can serve his time behind bars and move on.

Alan Haywood, 48, died after his daughter's boyfriend lost control of a VW Golf on a bend before it smashed into an embankment and overturned, flinging both from the wreckage. No other vehicle was involved.

The driver, Michael Legg, had been driving at nearly double the 40mph speed limit on their way home and neither was wearing a seat belt.

Legg, 28, whose girlfriend is expecting their child next month, admitted causing death by careless driving when over the drink/drive limit and having no insurance.

Legg, who had been living with Mr Haywood and his wife Pauline at their home in Waverley Road, Fordingbridge, was one and a half times the legal drink/drive limit at the time.

Now he has begun a 40-month prison sentence for what Judge John Boggis QC called "a tragedy" for all concerned.

During the case, Mrs Haywood and her daughter sat apart.

Annabelle travelled to court with his parents, who live in Chippenham, and sat in the front row of the cramped court while Mrs Haywood sat in the second row behind her.

After the case, the two parties kept some 20 yards apart in the public foyer. M rs Haywood was being consoled by the police family liaison officer and her daughter with Legg's parents.

The Daily Echo understands that Mrs Haywood and Annabelle no longer live together.

The accident happened when they were returning from Southampton where they had stopped at at least one public house before travelling on to a Bursledon convenience store where Legg bought food and cider.

Prosecutor Carl Anderson said shortly before the crash, Legg had overtaken another driver who estimated his speed to be more than 70mph.

"A very short while later he came across the Golf on its roof.

"Mr Haywood was lying close to the overturned vehicle while Mr Legg was lying across the top of a barbed wire fence, also close to the vehicle."

The defendant was taken to hospital where a sample revealed he was over the drink/drive limit.

An accident investigator found Legg had lost control of the Golf on a bend, over-corrected and the car turned broadside before climbing an embankment, hitting a tree and crossing back over the road.

It came to rest on its roof on a barbed wire fence and wall.

In interview, Legg - who had a previous conviction for drink/driving - told police he had no recollection of what happened after leaving the convenience store.

In an impact statement, Mrs Pauline Haywood said she and her husband had been together for 30 years. "I am trying to cope alone but failing miserably. We had great plans for the future, now there is no future. All I do is exist from day to day. I appear alive on the outside but I am dead inside."

She added: "I do feel aggrieved that Michael has shown no apparent remorse and appears totally unaffected by the fact he was driving the car, causing Alan's death. I would like to have known he was sorry but he has never shown any emotion and has not mentioned Alan's name since the accident."

In mitigation, James Newton-Price said Legg offered no excuses and didn't try to minimise what he had done. His injuries included three broken ribs, a fractured vertebra, bleeding to his liver and a small haemorrhage to his brain. "He concedes he has a drink problem. For a few months after the accident he kept off alcohol but he has relapsed, he has found the trauma and the outcome of these proceedings too much. He has had great difficulty expressing his feelings and that should not be confused with a lack of remorse."

Accident After the hearing, Mrs Haywood said Legg had not intended to kill her husband and it had been a tragic accident.

"He must serve his sentence and come to terms with what he has done. I must serve mine and mine is longer than his. Once he has served it, he can move on."

Legg, of Wessex Close, Chippenham, was also banned from driving for four years.