A DRIVER is facing a “substantial” prison sentence after admitting causing the death of a motorcyclist by careless driving.

A DRIVER is facing a “substantial” prison sentence after admitting causing the death of a motorcyclist by careless driving.

Graeme Bangs admitted causing the collision which claimed the life of father-of-two Steven Emsden, from Colchester.

He was at the wheel of a green Ford Transit van which collided with Mr Emsden’s Suzuki GSXR motorbike in Great Braxted, near Tiptree.

Bangs, 43, was remanded in custody at Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday but warned he faced a lengthy prison sentence by His Honour Judge Goldstaub QC.

Bangs, of Gower Chase, Basildon, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving, causing death by careless driving while disqualified from driving and causing death by careless driving while uninsured.

He also admitted fraud for failing to disclose that he was a banned driver.

The court heard the accident happened on June 12 last year in Braxted Park Road.

Pre sentence reports have been ordered on Bangs who will be sentenced sometime after May 10.

Mr Emsden, 49, of Cromwell Road, Colchester, was known to his friends as “Emmo” and had been married to his wife, Jane, for 20 years.

The couple had two sons, Nathan and Jake, and he was also survived by his parents, Brian and Marjory, and younger brothers Robert and Trevor.

Mr Emsden grew up in Colchester and was a production controller at Brantham Engineering in Witham at the time of his death.

He was a keen footballer and supported Colchester United and Liverpool FC.

Paying tribute to him at the time of his death, Mr Emsden’s family said he had an “infectious enthusiasm and sense of fun.”