AN elderly woman whose careless driving resulted in the deaths of a motorcylist and his 11-year-old stepdaughter was freed from her two-year jail sentence today.

Three judges in the Court of Appeal in London ruled that the prison term handed down in February to Ann Larke, of Tern Close, Hythe, was "manifestly excessive".

Larke, 74, who was present in the dock, had a new sentence of 39 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, imposed by Lord Justice Scott Baker, sitting with Mrs Justice Rafferty and Mr Justice Beatson.

Schoolgirl Channon Kevern and her stepfather Terry Stubbs, 29, of Fawley, died on the A326 at Dibden Purlieu in August last year.

Larke, a mother of three with an unblemished driving record since 1959, was making a U-turn when she hit the motorcycle.

The accident happened as she pulled out of a layby after taking her dog for a walk.

She admitted two counts of the new offence of causing death by careless driving and was sentenced to two years by a judge at Southampton Crown Court on February 5. She had not been due for release until February 4 next year.

The judges heard that Larke, who until her retirement in 2005 had worked with adults with learning difficulties, intends never to drive again.

She was described as being ''devastated'' by what she had done.