A 82-year-old who killed another pensioner on the Evesham bypass by executing a U-turn has been spared an immediate prison sentence.

Alan Brearey decided he needed petrol as he drove to Wales for a holiday.

He made the U-turn on the A46 while towing a caravan to get to a garage he had passed, Worcester Crown Court heard.

Witnesses told police that Brearey failed to signal before 80-year-old Geoffrey Colwell, of Southway Court, Kingswinford, crashed into him on a moped and was crushed to death under the caravan.

Brearey, of Grove Park, Knutsford, Cheshire, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.

Judge Alistair McCreath told the grandfather the U-turn, although achievable on that road, was unnecessary so close to an island he could have used to backtrack to the garage.

His culpability was at the lowest end of the scale and there were no aggravating features.

The judge said Brearey had no history of bad driving, had lived a good life as a teacher and fought valiantly in the last war.

He provided support for his wife who suffered from severe depression and for his daughter who was recovering from cancer.

Brearey was given an eight month jail term, suspended for 12 months, and banned from driving for five years with an extended re-test before he drove again.

The judge told the family of the victim in the public gallery: "This was the needless loss of a man, much admired and mourned by many. A human life cannot be restored or the loss measured by a prison sentence."

The tragedy happened on September 26 last year as the defendant was driving his Peugeot estate to the Gower peninsular, said prosecutor Peter Parson.

The moped driver, travelling at 50mph, could not stop in time to avoid a collision.

Brearey had never had an accident or conviction in over 60 years of driving, said Simon Drew, defending. He was unlikely ever to drive again.

He was deeply shocked by the death - which had been caused by a single error of judgement - and wanted to apologise to the victim's family.