A woman wept as her lorry-driver husband was jailed for three years after his HGV toppled on to a car, killing the motorist inside.

At Oxford Crown Court on May 6, Shaun Lawrence's barrister Tony McGeorge pleaded with Judge Bruce McIntyre to be lenient, claiming that his wife Karen and two children would have to give up their house if the former Tesco worker was jailed.

Lawrence, 35, was driving a Tesco lorry too fast towards a roundabout linking Abingdon Road with Oxford's ring road when it tipped over on to a car that was passing on the inside lane, on March 20 last year.

Lawrence denied causing the death of 42-year-old Thame man, Gary Weller, by dangerous driving, but was convicted last month.

At his trial, expert witnesses told the court that the speed Lawrence was driving at, 30mph, was liable to overturn the lorry on the roundabout.

At Oxford Crown Court yesterday, Mr McGeorge said: "This man has suffered quite serious post-tramatic stress disorder which, in my submission, is the clearest indication of his remorse and regret at being involved in this incident.

"He is somebody that goes out of his way to raise money for charity. His children are at a young age and they are as devoted to him as he is to them.

"His wife is in tears every few minutes. They are going to lose the house as she can't afford to pay the mortgage.

"This family are going to be devastated. It's going to have a knock-on effect for the rest of their lives."

Many people who knew Lawrence, of Meadow Way, Faringdon, wrote letters to Judge McIntyre testifying his good character.

Judge McIntyre said Lawrence saw that a car was trying to overtake him on the inside and he drove aggressively.

He said: "It seems to me that there's a lesson to be learnt for everyone who drives a motor vehicle."

He told Lawrence: "I'm quite clear in my own mind it's not a case of road rage, but irritation at the way he drove, and you allowed that irritation to get the better of your driving.

"You came on to that roundabout at a speed at which tipping over was not going to be inevitable, but you were liable to topple, and tragically it did."

Lawrence was jailed for three years and disqualified from driving for five years.