The heartbroken widow of a man who was killed in a horror crash near Langley has slammed the sentencing of the “distracted” van driver who hit her husband.

Ciara Lee branded the one year 10-month sentence handed to Paul Duxbury, 36, of Rowland Close, Wallingford, for the death of her husband Edmond Lee, from Cookham, as “pathetically short”.

It comes after Mr Lee, known by most as Eddy, died in hospital after a crash on the M4, between junctions five and six, involving his motorcycle and a van on July 5, 2018.

The Volkswagen van was driven by Duxbury who had become distracted behind the wheel and hit the back of Mr Lee’s motorcycle.

The first half of Duxbury’s sentence will be served in custody and the second half will be served out on licence.

Speaking about the sentence, Mrs Lee said: “Eleven months in prison for killing someone, by being grossly distracted for such a long period of time, is disrespectful to my incredible husband, and also our little boy.

“The sentencing guidelines for crimes like this need a massive overhaul, if cases like this can ever serve a deterrent.

“But I also believe Mr Duxbury should play his part in trying to make a difference. If he really wants to do something to help, he will work with me after his release. He will use his story, and his terrible actions to educate others.

“Eddy should be here, that's the bottom line, and I will fight for him until my dying day. I hope Mr Duxbury can have the courage to make a difference too, out of respect for Eddy and the happy life he stole from us as a young family.”

More than 300 people turned out to pay their respects to Mr Lee at his funeral. Mrs Lee was joined by more than 50 cyclists in a procession to the funeral, saying she decided to cycle the 18km in a “fitting tribute” to her “athletic” husband who rode 550 miles to their wedding in Scotland.

Praising the work of police officers in the case, Mrs Lee added: “I would like to express the deepest gratitude I have for Thames Valley Police and the way they handled this case, particularly the lead investigator and my family liaison officer.

“They took the time to understand who Eddy was, and why he was so exceptional. He stopped being a statistic they were getting justice for and became a person.

“That was so important for me and made the legal process much easier.”