A HAMPSHIRE heroin addict who crashed her car, killing her ten-year-old daughter, could still be jailed.

Solicitor General Harriet Harman has referred the case of Jane Boyd to the Court of Appeal at the request of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

It follows a public outcry over the "lenient" sentence received by Boyd at Winchester Crown Court six weeks ago.

Boyd, convicted of causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drugs, received an 18-month prison sentence suspended for two years.

The decision not to impose an immediate jail term was condemned by road safety groups and Boyd's ex-neighbours at Bevis Close, Blackfield.

Now the Appeal Court will be asked to decide if the sentence handed down by Judge Patrick Hooton on June 21 was too light.

The case could be heard as early as next month.

A CPS spokesman said: "We felt it appropriate that the Attorney General should be asked to consider if the sentence was unduly lenient. Having reviewed the matter his deputy, the Solicitor General, has sent the case to the Court of Appeal."

The CPS contacted government law officers soon after Boyd, 29, of Clifford Street, Southampton, was sentenced.

A government spokesman said: "If the CPS feels a particular sentence is too lenient it can refer the matter to the Attorney General. He or the Solicitor General will review the case and refer it on to the Court of Appeal if they think that's appropriate.

"The Solicitor General has referred this case to the Court of Appeal because it was felt the sentence imposed at Winchester was unduly lenient. The defendant could be jailed, but that's down to the court."

Boyd was high on heroin when her car careered across the busy A35 at Totton in October 1999 and smashed into an oncoming lorry.

Her daughter Kelly was killed and two other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were seriously injured.

Later, it was revealed that Boyd continued to commit motoring offences after the crash.

She was stopped in Bitterne, Southampton, in February last year and subsequently reported for driving without insurance, obstructing police, and driving while disqualified.

But a police spokesman today confirmed that Boyd was not a disqualified driver when she caused the head-on crash that killed Kelly. He declined to comment on the Solicitor General's decision to refer the case to the Court of Appeal.

However, the move was praised by Boyd's former neighbours, who have always insisted that she should have been jailed for five years. One neighbour said: "Drink-drivers who kill people are sent to prison, and I think the same should apply to drug-drivers."

The offence committed by Boyd carries a maximum jail term of ten years but CPS officials say the Appeal Court is unlikely to impose such a severe sentence.

Judge Hooton decided not to imprison Boyd after acknowledging that she had accidentally killed her own daughter.

He told her: "It is difficult to imagine a worse punishment than the one you have already suffered."

Last month, it was revealed that Judge Hooton failed to impose the mandatory two-year ban that the offence carries.