A PENSIONER whose dangerous driving led to the death of an 81-year-old motorist has been jailed for eight months.

Keith Hodgkins was told by a judge that he could not avoid passing a custodial sentence because of the seriousness of the case.

Hodgkins, 68, admitted causing the death by dangerous driving of Darlington pensioner Irene Perpoli in an accident on the A67, between Yarm and Teesside Airport, on July 17, last year.

Teesside Crown Court heard yesterday how he overtook a slow-moving tractor pulling a trailer on a bend on the road.

Part-time delivery driver Hodgkins' van collided with Mrs Perpoli's Citroen Xsara car and she suffered serious injuries, including two leg fractures.

Two months after the crash, she died in hospital after contracting bronchitis, having never returned to her Coniscliffe Road home following the accident.

The court heard how Mrs Perpoli initially responded well to treatment, but developed an infection and died in the James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, on September 8.

Two cars had overtaken the tractor before Hodgkins, of Cullin Close, Lambton, Washington, tried a similar manoeuvre.

Brian Russell, in mitigation, urged Judge Peter Armstrong to show leniency because of Hodgkins' age, his ailing health and that of his wife, for whom he was a full-time carer. He said: "He deeply regrets what he did and the effect it has had on Mrs Perpoli's family."

Judge Armstrong described the manoeuvre on a blind bend as a bad error of judgement.

Hodgkins was banned from driving for two years and ordered to take an extended test before he can get back behind the wheel.