Bill Parish said the 15-month prison term given to driver Jamie White was a joke and added he had completely lost faith in the British justice system.

Lynette Parish died as she made her way to Bullingdon Prison in Oxfordshire where she worked as a teacher.

The 55-year-old was killed instantly when her Volkswagen Polo car was hit by White's oncoming BMW estate as he lost control on a bend after overtaking another car.

Speaking outside Oxford Crown Court after the sentencing, Mr Parish said the sentence was an insult to his wife's memory.

"We have lived through a year of hell but he will be out on a few months and carry on. He never seemed to accept what he had done but we have all got a life sentence. Everything you read about people losing faith in justice has been shown in this sentence."

White had denied one count of causing death by dangerous driving, claiming it was careless but changed his plea when experts proved he must have been exceeding the speed limit by about eight mph to have lost control at the bend seconds before the crash last year.

Prosecutor Nigel Daly told a judge that the force of the impact was so strong White's car had slipped, spun around, and landed upside down in a ditch.

He said: "Whatever the reason for it, Mr White lost control of the car at the time of the collision. The critical speed for the corner was 68mph. He was driving too fast and driving so fast he was unable to control the vehicle on that road. He sped away until finally he lost control and crashed into Mrs Parish's Volkswagen."

Mrs Parish, who lived with her husband in Banbury, Oxon., died instantly at the scene between Thame and Bicester.

Tony Davis, speaking in mitigation, said his client was "a model citizen with an unblemished past."

He added: "This was a momentary aberration, a miscalculation, a purely transient and ephemeral piece of driving. He did not alert to the fact that as he overtook, his speed crept up and the bend caused him to lose control."

Addressing White, of Chearsley Road, Judge Christopher Compston said no sentence could ever compensate the family for their loss.

"I am going to send you to prison, there can be do doubt about that. You came up to the bend and lost control causing the tragic death of Mrs Parish. The least sentence I can pass is 12 months. I think it is worse than that," he said

Jailing him for 15 months and disqualifying him from driving until the end of his sentence the judge added: "It is not the end, although obviously the sentence is hard."

Speaking outside the court, retired business manager Mr Parish paid tribute to his wife.

"She was a very caring person and one of her big satisfactions in life was that she was helping some of the inmates to lead a better life," he said

"She had two sons, Dan and Jake and a grandchild due in a few weeks which now, tragically, she will never see."

"It is not just her family here and in Oz that are suffering but all the people she could have helped in the future."