THE family of a man who died following a crash near Tiptree last year has hit out at the suspended sentence given to the driver responsible for his death.

Rebecca Price, 29, was handed a suspended jail sentence after pleading guilty to killing work colleague Charlie Punter, 25, of Vicarage Court in Colchester.

The collision happened in Inworth when a Ford KA and a Ford Ranger struck each other on the B1023 Kelvedon Road shortly after 5.30pm on December 12 2011.

Charlie Punter, a passenger in the KA, was certified dead at the scene.

Price, the driver of the KA, from Wilson Marriage Road in Colchester was arrested the following day in hospital and subsequently charged with causing death by careless driving.

At Chelmsford Crown Court on Wednesday, the former sales representative was handed a six-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months and ordered to carry out 300 hours of community service.

Today, Charlie Punter’s family released a statement which said: “As a family we were devastated by Charlie’s passing last December and the resulting twelve months have done little to heal the wounds.

“The details of this prolonged case have been hugely upsetting, as has the lack of remorse shown to the family by the woman responsible for his unnecessary and completely avoidable death.

“Given the severity of her offence, we are deeply disappointed that she was not given a custodial sentence as 300 hours community service and a driving ban does not seem to be an adequate punishment for causing death, nor do we feel that it is a sufficient deterrent to others.

“We’d like to thank the police and the Crown Prosecution Service for their help during this incredibly difficult time. We will never, ever forget Charlie and we hope that his untimely death will serve as a reminder to others that dangerous and careless driving destroys lives. We would now like to begin to rebuild our lives in private.”