A FARMER who killed a female motorcyclist by turning across his path on a country road has been given a suspended jail sentence.

John Lawler was turning right into the driveway of his farm between Nomansland and Witheridge when he failed to see Samantha Horne on a straight and unencumbered stretch of road.

She was a much loved mother and highly respected nurse from Budleigh Salterton who had no chance to avoid Lawler’s VW Transporter van and died at the scene after suffering multiple injuries.

Ms Horne was a keen motorcyclist who was out for a ride on the B3137 with her boyfriend Roger Baker, who lived nearby and was riding 50 metres behind in the early evening of July 9, 2021.

Lawler told police at the scene he had not seen either bike but later tried to blame Ms Horne for not seeing him and made the false suggestion to police they may have been racing.

He is now said to be wracked by guilt at having caused a death and is having trouble sleeping or looking his own family in the eye.

Lawler, aged 69, of Middlewick Barton, Nomansland, Tiverton, admitted causing death by careless driving and was jailed for seven-and-a-half months, suspended for 18 months by Judge David Evans at Exeter Crown Court.

He was also banned from driving for 12 months and ordered to pay £1,000 costs.

He told him: “I acknowledge the infinite and immeasurable nature of the loss caused by your inattentive driving that day. The sentence I pass can do very little to repair that loss.

“There was no opportunity for Ms Horne to take any evasive action. She had priority and could have expected anyone turning to pause before making a turn. There was literally no opportunity for her to steer or brake to avoid a collision.

“In your interview with the police, to your discredit, you said that she failed to see you. That was to put it the wrong way around. You also suggested the two motorcycles had been racing before the accident.”

Mr Rowan Jenkins, prosecuting, said Ms Horne and Mr Baker had been out on their bikes in Exmouth and gone for a second ride on country roads after returning to his home near Nomansland.

A crash investigator calculated that Lawler would have had her bike in view for 6.2 seconds on the clear, straight, 165 metre stretch of road where the crash occurred.

A victim personal statement from Mr Baker said Samantha had been an inspiration to him and had changed his life forever by her enthusiasm and love.

He said that nothing in his former career in the forces was as traumatic as having to break the news of her death to her children.

Mr Charles Row, KC, defending, said Lawler is distraught and so consumed by guilt that he suffers sleepless nights and feels he is unable to look his family in the eye.

He now accepts that he simply failed to see the motorcycle, and having missed it, was concentrating on other road hazards as he turned into his driveway.

He said he has worked seven days-a-week all his life and has been running an electrical business to subsidise his loss making farm and help his three children.

He has a clean driving record despite travelling tens of thousands of miles every year.

Ms Horne was a nurse working at Budleigh Salterton who was also a keen athlete and member of the Budleigh Runners, who held an event in her memory last month.

Fellow runner Debbie Newson paid tribute to her. She said: "Sam was a nurse at the surgery and a part of our running club, and a very key member in our community.

"She was inspirational, full of zeal and passion for her community and her job, and we wanted to remember her in a way that seemed right. Many of our runners are running today because she encouraged them to start running and join the club.

"We invited everyone in Budleigh and we did a five km run and a three km walk. We also raised money for the air ambulance and for Sam’s children, and the air ambulance did a fly past in honour of Sam!

"It was a truly wonderful event, where the people of Budleigh Salterton came together in unity to support each other and Sam’s family, who also came to the event."