A DRUG-DRIVER admitted causing the death of a pensioner.

Adrian Fasan, 40, ignored speeding signs and failed to brake, killing Catherine Akehurst in Old Shoreham Road.

At Lewes Crown Court he was jailed for five years for causing the death.

Anthony Prosser, prosecuting, said he had undertaken and overtaken other vehicles on the road in his Toyota Celica.

A flashing 30mph road sign had shown, but Fasan did not slow down. In fact tests proved he only hit the brakes as he ran over Mrs Akehurst.

There was evidence that he had received a mobile phone call on his work phone, and his ABS breaking system had a fault which showed on his dashboard.

And he had taken speed (amphetamines) and cocaine at a party the night before, and was over the drug limit in his blood.

Tests also showed that if he had driven at 30mph, Mrs Akehurst would still be alive.

“His driving fell far below that standard of a competent and careful driver,” Mr Prosser said.

Nicholas Hamblin, defending, said Fasan was an NHS Telecoms manager at Brighton General Hospital, and had been suffering stress and relationship problems.

He had not been using his mobile phone, and had been looking at his gear stick, Mr Hamblin said.

Fasan, of Loder Road in Brighton, had shown “genuine remorse” from the first instant, telling officers: “She was someone’s mother.”

He has also been wracked with guilt since the crash and regularly has flashbacks.

In court, Mrs Akehurst’s son Alan said: “She was just crossing the road when she was cruelly and needlessly taken.

“I was in Germany when the police called to tell me the devastating news. Shock doesn’t begin to describe how I feel.

“At home I saw her damaged handbag, then it hit me I would never be able to have a cup of tea or a chat with her. There was no chance to say goodbye.

“For death by dangerous driving, I wish there was a sentence of life without parole. We have to deal with this disgusting crime for the rest of our lives.”

Judge Janet Waddicor said she was restricted by sentencing guidelines, and said the offence did not fit into the most serious category to attract a 14-year maximum jail term.

She said: “What happened to Mrs Akehurst was shocking. That sunny lunchtime should have been an unremarkable one.

“She was not to know that Adrian Fasan was behind the wheel, and that he had taken speed and cocaine at a party the night before.

“Drivers who witnessed Fasan driving said ‘what an idiot, what a boy racer’.

“No sentence that this court can impose will come anywhere near close to what you have all been through.”