A banned Blackpool driver who killed a taxi driver while two and a half times over the limit has been jailed for four years and eight months.

Mother-of-two Anne Fallon was at the wheel of her ex boyfriend's Jaguar XJ8 when it struck Martyn McVeigh's estate car at a mini roundabout on Luton Road, Cleveleys.

The 49-year-old family man died at the scene of the crash in January this year. He had previously spent thirty years in the civil service before becoming a taxi driver two years before the tragedy.

Fallon, 31, of Regent Road, Blackpool, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving, while over the alcohol limit, as well as disqualified driving and not having insurance.

That evening she had spent time at her ex partner's home before deciding to nip to a shop, only to discover it was closed.

Mr McVeigh, driving a Ford Focus estate, was last seen heading down Rivington Avenue, having dropped off a couple who waved to him as he left. He was on his way to pick up a fare at the Golden Eagle pub when the collision occurred.

At the Preston Crown Court sentencing hearing, a judge praised his widow Shirley Ann McVeigh for her moving personal statement. The couple had been married twenty eight years and had two sons.

The court heard that Fallon and her ex partner had drunk four, two litre bottles of cider between them earlier that evening. Less than six months earlier she had been given a two and a half year road ban for driving the same Jaguar with excess alcohol, while three and a half times over the legal limit.

Mr Russell Davies, prosecuting, said in the earlier incident, she had committed the offence on the car park of the Gardeners Arms pub, driving it a short distance and threatening to drive it away.

Mr McVeigh - who enjoyed his new work as a taxi driver - had previously been a hard working civil servant for thirty years. The two people who had been his fare before the fatality had no concerns about his driving.

His next call was to go to the Golden Eagle pub.

Fallon had spent that evening with her ex partner at an address on Queens Promenade. They had a meal together and began drinking cider.

Over a period of around four hours they drank four, two litre bottles of Strongbow cider between them. It was thought the defendant drank around seven pints of cider.

Some time before 10pm she decided to go to a nearby shop for cigarettes, bread and milk. She took his purple Jaguar without his permission and knowing she was banned.

The shop was shut. It seemed that Mr McVeigh had been driving along Luton Road, intending to turn right into North Drive. The Jaguar struck the driver's door.

He sustained severe and extensive injuries as a result of the collision. An ambulance arrived within minutes, but he had died by then.

An accident investigation found that Fallon had been driving at 25-35mph at the point of impact - not a safe speed to negotiate the island. It was felt that had been a contributory factor.

A police constable later saw her, head in hands and visibly upset, at her former boyfriend's home.

At 11.37pm, a breath test showed that Fallon had an alcohol reading of 90 microgrammes, the legal limit being 35.

Mr Davies told the court the defendant lied when she had told police she had only drunk two half pints of cider, topped up with lemonade and suggested her former partner might have spiked her drink.

She also lied by suggesting she had drunk another pint of cider when she got back to his address.

Fallon had told officers "He pulled out as I was going forward. As soon as I saw him I hit the brakes, but it was just instant". She said she left the scene because she was scared.

A forensic scientist calculated that her version of events was untrue.

Her alcohol reading was consistent with her having consumed seven pints of cider, said the prosecution.

The court also heard that the junction was something of an accident blackspot, with ten personal injury collisions arising in the previous three years. In February the roundabout was raised and zebra crossings introduced following concerns about safety.

Defence barrister Miss Rachel Woods said Fallon had written a letter to the judge. If appropriate, it was intended that it be passed on to Mr McVeigh's family.

The letter contained expressions of regret and remorse.

The defendant took full responsibility for what happened. Mr McVeigh had been quite innocently going about his business.

Miss Woods said "There was perhaps a warning sign some six months previously which she should have heeded."

By the time of the fatal crash, she had ended her relationship with her boyfriend. She agreed to meet up with him because he had been alone over Christmas. She spent the evening with him and as time wore on, the atmosphere changed.

Miss Woods explained "There came a point when she felt she had to get out of the house. That is a split second decision which she will regret for the rest of her life.

"The defendant does not know how the accident occurred. It was her intention to go straight across the roundabout. She accepts that down to either her speed and or her level of intoxication, she completely failed to see Mr McVeigh's Ford Focus on the roundabout and failed to take appropriate or sufficient action in time".

Fallon had got out unharmed, in a state of complete shock and confusion.

She had not appreciated how serious the incident had been, or how seriously the other driver had been injured.

Judge Edward Slinger told Fallon in passing sentence that nothing the court could say could begin to ease the pain felt by the McVeigh family who, in a moment, had lost a much loved and hard working father and husband.

"I accept no words are needed from me to emphasise the horror of what you did that night.

“You know that only an immediate custodial sentence can be justified for a matter of this kind".

The judge went on to add: "The court has been much moved and impressed by what Mrs McVeigh had to say in her statement and the great generosity of her reference to the sentence which you must face.

"She prays that you will learn something from all of this, change your life and make the rest of your life a good one, do some sort of good to replace that.

"I believe you can make reparation to society for what you have done.”

The defendant was given a five year driving ban and must take an extended retest before ever getting behind the wheel in future.