A lorry driver who crashed into the back of a digger and killed its driver has been jailed for five years.

Malcolm Hylands , 51, from Gravesend was driving a Scania HGV on the eastbound A421 near Bedford when it struck the digger being driven by David Simpson.

Jailing him and banning him from driving for three years, Judge Barbara Mensah said only he knows what distracted him from seeing Mr Simpson's digger,which was travelling slowly along a straight road in broad daylight, until it was too late.

Prosecutor Alan Blake told Luton crown court said there was evidence was that he was reading text messages in the hour before the crash.

At 12.11 he received a text, very shortly before the collision on May 7, 2013

Mr Simpson, 66, lived with his wife Rose in Barford Road, Blunham. They had been together since they were 15. He had two daughters and two granddaughters.

"It was a cruel, sudden loss. No sentence I impose will bring Mr Simpson back. His family is always going to suffer" - Judge Mensah

His daughter Lorraine made a victim impact statement in which she said: "We thought dad was indestructible. He was a tall strong man, but no match for an HGV carrying heavy steel."

Hylands, from Osprey Way, Gravesend, was convicted of causing death by driving dangerously.

The court heard he had a speeding conviction from January 2012 and a conviction for using a mobile phone while driving on the M6 in February 2013.

Defence barrister Malcolm Galloway said he had been a lorry driver since he was 21.

He said: "After the crash he was inconsolable. He wandered around in a daze.

"This is not a case of gross distraction. He failed to observe and take avoiding action of the digger."

He said Hylands showed "utter remorse and sorrow". He is married with two daughters and has a history of charity work, he said.

Judge Mensah said: "This was an accident that did not need to happen. The Simpsons have been deprived of a father, husband and grandfather. It was a cruel, sudden loss.

"No sentence I impose will bring Mr Simpson back. His family is always going to suffer."