A driver whose lorry was involved in a fatal head-on collision with a van on a Suffolk road has been jailed for eight months.

Karlin Angelov failed to brake in time when traffic in front of him slowed down to avoid a broken-down car on the A134 at Ingham, near Bury St Edmunds, and swerved into the path of a Ford Transit van driven by father-of-four Stephen Holleworth.

The trailer of the lorry jackknifed and collided with 48-year-old Mr Holleworth’s van head-on causing the front of the vehicle to be smashed inwards, said Sheilagh Davies, prosecuting.

The impact pushed the Transit van backwards into a tree causing concertina effect damage to the back of the van.

Mr Holleworth, who was from Nottingham, suffered “catastrophic” injuries and died at the scene.

Angelov, 41, of Bulgaria admitted causing Mr Holleworth’s death by careless driving on April 25 this year and in addition to being jailed for eight months, he was banned from driving for three years.

He was also ordered to take an extended retest.

Sentencing Angelov, Judge Emma Peters said he had been driving at 47mph in a 60mph speed limit on the single carriageway road which runs between Bury St Edmunds and Thetford and hadn’t been speeding.

She said there was no evidence he’d been using his telephone at the time of the crash or that he had been drinking or using drugs.

She said she had to follow sentencing guidelines for the offence of causing death by careless driving and apologised to Mr Holleworth’s widow and family if they thought the eight-month sentence seemed too low.

The judge acknowledged that no sentence she passed would bring Mr Holleworth back and no sentence would ever be enough for his family.

Angelov’s barrister said his client hadn’t left enough himself enough braking distance when the traffic in front of him slowed down, resulting in him swerving into the path of Mr Holleworth’s van.

“It was a misjudgment he shouldn’t have made as a professional driver,” he said.

The court heard that Angelov was devastated about what had happened and wished to express his condolences to Mr Holleworth’s family.