A LORRY driver has gone on the run after admitting he was to blame for a horror crash that killed a popular Hampshire council worker.

Andrew Ellis has disappeared since pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving last month.

He should have been sentenced yesterday but failed to turn up at Southampton Crown Court.

The court heard he had not kept an appointment with the probation service officials, who were compiling a report for the judge.

Ellis has not even contacted his own solicitors since July 15 - the day he pleaded guilty.

His mother last saw him the following day, the court was told.

Judge Christopher Leigh QC issued a warrant for the lorry driver's arrest.

Later Ellis' mother urged her son to get in touch.

Pauline Ellis, 62, told the Daily Echo that she feared he was contemplating suicide. She said: "I don't know where he is. I thought he was just going off for a few days' holiday. It was just after the last court appearance and he has not called me since. I've no idea what he can be doing and he's left his job as well.

"He was just numb really. He had the idea he was going to get 15 years in prison and he couldn't face that."

Bob Murray, 66, died when a vegetable delivery truck driven by Ellis smashed into the back of his stationary vehicle on the A35 between Lyndhurst and Ashurst on October 1, 2003.

A fellow council worker, who had just got out of the vehicle and was standing close at the time of the impact, suffered serious injuries.

Mr Murray, a retired firefighter, whose New Forest council job involved trimming verges, was at the wheel of his vehicle.

Last month Ellis, 36, of Ensbury Park, Bournemouth, pleaded guilty at Southampton Crown Court to causing death by dangerous driving.

Mr Murray, of Northerwood Avenue, Lyndhurst, was also a talented woodcarver who took part in shows across the country. He was a member of Swan Green Cricket Club, Lyndhurst, and of Testwood Baptist Church, Totton.

He was employed by the district council in 2000, initially as a car park attendant and latterly as a litter collector.

In a statement after the tragedy, his family, including widow Megan, their three children and his son from his first marriage, paid tribute. They said: "Bob was a very approachable, well-liked, gentle man who was described by many as being just like a dad."