A motorist who shot through red lights at a level crossing killing a pensioner has been spared jail because of his eczema.

Lord Woolf, the country's most senior judge, said Richard Crump had deliberately taken a risk by driving over a railway crossing as the barriers descended - but still refused to jail him for causing the death of 86-year-old Hannah O'Leary from Worthing.

Crump was convicted at Chichester Crown Court in November last year of causing death by dangerous driving and given a one-year suspended sentence.

But the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith QC, referred the case to London's Criminal Appeal Court, arguing that Crump should be jailed.

It was seen as a test case in response to widespread public concern over sentences passed in road death cases.

Lord Woolf accepted the Attorney General's argument that Crump's one-year suspended sentence was "unduly lenient" and said the aggravating features of the case meant a two-year jail term would have been appropriate.

But in a controversial decision, Lord Woolf said the term had been justifiably suspended in the light of Crump's remorse and his severe eczema.

Lord Woolf, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, described how Crump, with two passengers in his car, "shimmied" through the crossing in South Farm Road, Worthing, as the barriers descended, lights flashed and bells rang on the afternoon of January 18, 2001.

He hit Mrs O'Leary, of Bulkington Avenue, Worthing, as she was crossing the road, causing multiple injuries. She died a month later.

Lord Woolf said Crump, 30, of Charminster, Bournemouth, who has two previous speeding convictions, suffers from disabling eczema which would be difficult to treat in prison.

He had expressed sincere remorse and a psychiatrist had reported he showed signs of post traumatic stress disorder.

The sentencing judge had decided there were "exceptional circumstances" which justified him in suspending the sentence.

Crump's eczema was "undoubtedly serious and difficult to treat" and the prison service would face "extreme difficulty" in dealing with it.

With the case hanging over him for so long, the judge said his medical condition had deteriorated.

Recognising Crump's original one-year suspended sentence had been "unduly lenient", Lord Woolf doubled the suspended term to two years. His four-year driving ban will remain in place.

Despite refusing to jail Crump, Lord Woolf has signalled a crackdown on motorists who cause death by dangerous driving, saying in the most serious cases, offenders should be jailed for at least six years.

Lord Woolf, said the "starting point" for sentencing in even the least serious cases, where there were no aggravating circumstances, should be a year to 18 months.

Where there were aggravating features - including drink, drugs, competitive driving, high speed, falling asleep and inattention through reading or using a mobile phone - he said two to three years would be appropriate.

The National Eczema Society declined to comment.