A pensioner who may only have months to live walked free from court after killing a motorist in a crash.

Retired taxi driver Raymond Swinford, 75, was accused of deliberately crashing head on into the other car in a country lane in a bungled suicide attempt because he faced allegations of sex crimes.

He went on trial accused of manslaughter but in April a jury at Lewes Crown Court failed to reach a verdict.

Yesterday he appeared at the court again when he was due to stand trial a second time. But he admitted causing death by dangerous driving and a formal not guilty verdict was recorded against the manslaughter charge.

The prosecution accepted Swinford had not veered into the other car on purpose but had accidentally caused the crash two years ago which killed grandfather Cyril Thorpe, 64.

Swinford, a divorced father of two, of Chapel Close, Littlehampton, was sentenced to 17 months in jail. He will not serve any time behind bars because he had been held on remand following his arrest for eight and a half months - the equivalent of a 17-month sentence.

He also admitted two offences of sexually assaulting two young children, a boy and girl aged seven and ten, in the 1990s. Twelve other charges of sexual abuse, which he denied, will remain on the court file.

The court heard Swinford was arrested in April 2006 and questioned about the sex crimes. He was due to return to Chichester Police Station on June 15. But two days before, he left a note for his partner Debbie Rogers which said he was taking his own life because he could no longer cope with his failing health. She alerted the police and later that day, an officer on patrol saw Swinford driving his Skoda on the A27 at Fontwell.

The officer turned on his flashing lights to try to him to stop but Swinford sped away into Britten's Lane.

The officer claimed he did not chase after Swinford because he was concerned about his vulnerable state of mind. As he followed behind he saw the fatal crash.

Swinford claimed he had changed his mind about ending his life by the time the accident happened. He had parked near Arundel and intended to take an overdose of painkillers with brandy.

He said he panicked when he saw the police officer behind him and decided to throw the painkillers out of the window because he believed it was illegal to try to commit suicide. As he reached down to the footwell to get the pills, he accidentally veered across the road and caused the crash.

Mr Thorpe, from Whiteways, Bognor, was driving a Nissan Sunny which was catapulted into a tree. He died instantly. Swinford escaped with minor injuries.

During the trial Swinford, who has cancer, told the jury he had no intention of causing the fatal crash. He said: "It is on my conscience all the time. It is the most horrible feeling."

An emotional statement from Mr Thorpe's widow Petronella was read out in court. She sat in the public gallery during the hearing with her son Gavin and daughter Eloise.

The statement read: "I have tried so hard to continue with my life without the man I loved so much but I cannot. I visit the cemetery at least once a day but I know he is not coming back.

"I just want to be with Cyril. I feel as if my life has ended without him. Cyril was and still is my whole life."

Anthony Glass QC, defending, said in June last year, a doctor estimated Swinford had a 50% chance of surviving more than one year.

Judge Richard Brown said: "For the members of the Thorpe family no sentence this court could ever pass can help to reduce the devastation brought into their lives by the loss of a beloved husband, father and grandfather."

The judge said when deciding on the sentence he had to consider Swinford's ill health. He said: "I have to bear in mind he is genuinely a very sick man with a limited life expectancy."

Swinford was banned from driving for five years.