A driver who made an obscene gesture at another motorist moments before causing a fatal car crash was yesterday jailed for 21 months.

Christopher Tinkler sobbed as a judge told him his driving had shown "impatience, arrogance and danger" and had to be punished with a substantial term in prison.

The 20-year-old had denied causing death by dangerous driving but was convicted following a trial last month.

Motorist Alison Bedwell, who was in her 60s, died after suffering fatal injuries in the accident on the A26 near Eridge on June 12 last year.

Mrs Bedwell, whose husband was a passenger in their Austin Metro, had been driving home to Crowborough after spending the morning shopping in Tunbridge Wells.

Her husband was at Lewes Crown Court to see Tinkler sentenced.

But he was unhappy with the sentence, saying: "My wife was a superb person. The fact more than 230 people came to her funeral says a lot. She worked for other people all her life. It was the most appalling driving."

Tinkler was accused of driving dangerously for one and a half miles before the crash, tailgating a Mazda then giving the driver "the finger" as he overtook and deliberately swerved in front of it.

But he lost control and swerved across the road into oncoming traffic.

Sentencing Tinkler, of Sheepstreet Lane, Etchingham near Robertsbridge, to 21 months in a young offenders' institution and banning him from driving for five years, Judge Brown said: "I accept you are now very sorry for your actions and that you suffered some measure of injury.

"I have described your driving on that day as appalling. It's the sort of driving many of us see all too often and not always involving young men.

"It wasn't a momentary case of dangerous driving.

"You were aggressively following that other car as it overtook a lorry. You were so close your car and the lorry appeared to be joined.

"You overtook the Mazda, leant over your passenger and gave the driver a crude finger gesture. Then you pulled in front of the Mazda. That driving left no possibility of you dealing with the oversteer as a result of your damaged tyre.

"No sentence can ever start to put a value on a life lost. However, those who drive in such a manner must appreciate the devastation it can cost."

At the time of the accident, Tinkler was enjoying a gap year after securing a place at Northampton Business School.

Rebecca Poulet, in mitigation, told the court Tinkler had a reputation as a "considerate and respectful" person and a "decent young man".

She said: "He is completely devastated by what he has done and the suffering he has caused."

She said Tinkler had also suffered physically from the crash, requiring rods to be inserted in his arm and plates in his jaw and said scars on his face acted as a permanent reminder of his actions.