A GRIEVING family have paid tribute to a mother killed in a collision as the driver who hit her was banned from the road.

Lorry driver Collin Blandford, from Durham, lost control of his HGV in icy conditions on the A1 around two miles north of Alnwick in December 2014.

As he overtook another vehicle, 30-year-old Blandford skidded and collided head on with a Citroen driven by 49-year-old midwife Lisa Wood, from Spittal, Berwick.

The mother-of-two was pronounced dead at the scene.

Blandford, of Durham Gardens, was found not guilty of causing death by dangerous driving following a trial in Newcastle last month, but admitted causing death by careless driving at an earlier hearing.

At Teesside Crown Court today (Monday, June 20), Blandford was handed a 12-month driving ban and a 12-month community order to carry out 90 hours of unpaid work.

Speaking on behalf of the family after sentencing, Lisa's daughter Danielle said: "I cannot put into words how truly devastating the tragic loss of my Mum has been on us all.

“Our lives changed forever the day she was taken from us and we continue to miss her every day”.

She added: “We know that what happened that day was just an accident and that the intention was never there to take our Mum or break our hearts like this however that is what has happened.

“We are paying the price of someone else’s poor decisions, lack of respect for the road and lack of respect for the power of a vehicle.

"We would like to urge other road users to please be aware of others on the road, think of others when driving and please don’t let another family go through this."

Following the case, Sergeant Jason Ryder, of Northumbria Police, said: "No sentence handed down by the judge today would have brought Lisa back to her family and I know they will be disappointed that Blandford has not been handed a custodial sentence.

"This collision was caused because Blandford was driving too fast in icy conditions. It is even more shocking when we consider he was in control of a vehicle the size of an HGV”.