A LORRY driver was sentenced for his part in a fatal crash after he admitted driving without due care and attention when he appeared at court on Thursday.

Gordon MacDougal Robertson, of Earls Meadows, in Dunns in the Scottish borders was fined £250, given eight penalty points and a 12-month driving ban and ordered to pay £250 court costs when he appeared at Northwich Magistrates' Court.

Robert Lewis, a 71-year-old father of five and grandfather of eight from Whitley, was killed when the truck driven by 63-year-old Robertson veered on to the wrong side of the A49 and into the Peugeot car driven by Mr Lewis before ploughing into Holly Bush cottage on December 8 last year.

Caroline Viviani, prosecuting, said Robertson was driving towards Warrington and was travelling around a right hand bend when he went over the white lines and hit the Peugeot.

Reading a statement from Mr Lewis's widow Kathleen, she said: "I saw a lorry coming round the corner and it appeared to be running up the white lines and for a second I thought it had missed us.

"Next thing there was an enormous bang - I heard pieces falling off the car and saw the window fragmented.

"I turned to my husband saying 'we should get out' and realised at that point he was deceased."

Ms Viviani read the statements of 11 witnesses in total but said the evidence was inconclusive.

She said: "Mrs Lewis has suffered greatly in the form of personal injuries but clearly the death of her husband is the matter that has had the most impact on her.

"This is an extremely serious road traffic collision with extremely serious consequences."

Louise Brandon, defending, said: "What happened on December 8 changed the lives of two families - that of the late Mr Lewis and of Mr Robertson."

She added: "It is ultimately a tragedy all round."

She said that Robertson's driving was faultless before the collision and he was travelling at 34mph on a road with a 40mph speed limit for lorries at the time of the crash.

She said: "We'll never know what happened to cause the collision."

She added: "What you see is genuine remorse on his part for the accident."