SIXTY-SEVEN year old haulage contractor whose ’aggressive’ careless driving killed his beloved nephew has walked free from court.

David Thorne, 67, of Newnham Road in Blakeney, was speeding when he lost control of his flatbed truck on a wet poorly-surfaced main road in August last year and crashed.

His nephew, Clinton Grindle, was thrown across the cab and out of the driver’s window to his death.

Gloucester Crown Court heard on Monday that Thorne’s driving in the moments leading up to the crash had led to one motorist on the road at the time calling him a ’bloody idiot.’

The court also heard a poignant statement from Mr Grindle’s partner, Callie Jones, in which she said her baby son William - five months old at the time of the tragedy - would never know his daddy.

Thorne pleaded guilty to causing the death of Mr Grindle by driving his Transit flatbed vehicle without due care and attention on the A48 on August 10, 2014.

The judge, Recorder Jeremy Wright, sentenced him to 16 months jail suspended for two years and banned him from driving for three years.

"Your driving on that day had tragic consequences for which you are responsible," said the Recorder.

For the full story buy The Forester.