An exhausted driver who caused a fatal crash after falling asleep at the wheel has been jailed for 18 months.

Baker Wojciech Saklak, 30, had not slept for at least 22 hours when he nodded off behind the wheel.

His car drifted across the road on a long bend and smashed into a Mazda driven by Peter Iredale.

Mr Iredale, 46, from Pagham, near Bognor, died instantly and his car ended up in a field.

As others tried to help him Saklak limped away with a broken ankle and in shock from the carnage he had caused.

Yesterday Saklak was jailed for 18 months after he admitted causing Mr Iredale’s death.

He pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving when he appeared at Chichester Crown Court but will serve just nine months before he is released from prison on licence.

He is also banned from driving for three years.

Saklak, of Frandor Road, Bognor, handed himself into police eight hours after causing the crash which killed Mr Iredale.

He admitted straight away what he had done and that he had fallen asleep.

Because it was accepted that he was in shock when he left the scene he was not prosecuted for failing to stop at the scene of the accident.

Judge Claudia Ackner told him: “The sentence I pass does not reflect the value of Mr Iredale’s life to his family or friends.

“Apart from the brief moment when you fell asleep behind the wheel there are no other aggravating features to this case.”

Saklak, who worked for Kate’s Cakes in Ashington, near Storrington, had been bowling in Chichester and was driving home from Littlehampton at 6.20am on February 24.

Richard Barton, prosecuting, said witnesses saw Saklak’s Ford Mondeo drifting across the central reservation on the A259 at Flansham Lane in Bognor.

The impact span his car round and sent the Mazda off the road into a field.

Saklak asked people who tried to help him and Mr Iredale what had happened before walking away.

Yesterday, he fought back tears as a victim impact statement from Patricia Brown, the victim’s sister, was read to the court.

She said: “I cannot really put into words how losing Peter so suddenly has affected me.

“Mr Saklak, I know you did not set out to take Peter’s life that morning.

“How you will live with your conscience on a daily basis, Mr Saklak, only you will know.”

Terry Brookes, defending, said Saklak had been in Britain for six years and sent money home to support his parents in Poland.

Mr Brookes added: “He wished it was him who had died and not the other driver.

“While the greatest tragedy lies with Mr Iredale’s family for the loss of a loved one, the driver who caused the accident has to live with what he has done.”

Speaking after the sentencing Inspector Steve Grace, of Sussex Police, said: “This was caused by Saklak’s lack of sleep over a protracted period.

“He showed disregard for his own and other’s safety and this tragically ended with Mr Iredale losing his life.

“No sentence can adequately reflect the value of Mr Iredale’s life.

Tragedies such as this should serve as a reminder to all drivers that tiredness can kill.”

Amy Aeron-Thomas, executive director of the charity RoadPeace, which supports the families of road crash victims, said: “Anyone who drives when feeling drowsy is guilty of dangerous driving.”