Mr Linnett's girlfriend, Danielle Knappett aged 22, who was riding pillion on the Kawasaki motorbike, was critically injured in the accident, she was seen to be weeping as the details of the  motorbike accident were read out at Peterborough Crown Court yesterday.

Mr Lord was sentenced to four years imprisonment for causing death by careless driving. Geraldine Smith, Mr Linnett's sister commented that "It is good that he got a jail term, but it will never bring Ray back".  

A police officer, who was driving the opposite way, witnessed the car spinning through the air, before colliding side-on with the motorbike, which threw Mr Linnett and Miss Knappett yards through the air. Mr Linnett died at the scene, while Miss Knappett suffered injuries to her head, pelvis, arms, legs and also a punctured lung.

The officers who arrived at the scene discovered that the inside of the BMW smelt of cannabis which Mr Lord did admit to smoking of the drug before driving. The officers present at the scene also discovered that the car's tyres did not have the required tread depth.

Mr Lord, who also pleaded guilty at a previous hearing was disqualified from driving for three years in addition to sentence.