Widow pledges to fight for longer prison terms

Lorraine Allaway paid an emotional tribute to her husband, Robert, from Long Preston, near Skipton, who died after his motorcycle was hit by a car which was being driven on the wrong side of the road by Andrew Crook in the Yorkshire Dales.

Crook, 48, from Swinnow Grove, Swinnow, Leeds, was jailed yesterday for five years and eight months after he pleaded guilty to causing the death of 46-year-old Mr Allaway by driving without due care and attention when he was almost two-and-a-half times over the legal drink-drive limit.

Mrs Allaway said: “It is impossible to find the words to describe how we feel about Bob’s death. He was my soulmate and is the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about at night. It is hard to accept that he is gone, as he still had so much to give.”

She added: “I aim to campaign for tougher sentencing for drivers who kill vulnerable road users through careless or dangerous drink or drug driving, in Bob’s name.”

Bradford Crown Court heard that Mr Allaway, from Long Preston, Skipton, was riding his motorbike along the A65 near Settle when he was involved in the collision with Crook’s Nissan Note on October 3 last year.

Mr Allaway, who performed as a Freddie Mercury impersonator, died at the scene. Crook had 83 microgrammes of alcohol per 100ml of breath – nearly two-and-a-half times the legal limit of 35 microgrammes per 100ml. North Yorkshire Police said Crook had driven his vehicle across white lines onto the wrong side of the road and collided with Mr Allaway’s motorbike.