A PENSIONER will never drive again after he caused the death of a student by performing a U-turn on the York outer ring road, a court heard.

Stephen Forster, 84, pulled out of a lay-by into the path of a Renault Clio near the A1237 Haxby roundabout on January 13, Rosemary Ainslie, prosecuting, told York magistrates.

Clio driver Michelle Johnson had no space or time to stop. She avoided a collision by swerving violently, but that caused her car to spin on to the wrong side of the road and collide with a lorry coming the other way, despite its driver braking heavily.

Her front seat passenger, Rebecca Whitwell, 20, from Stockton-on-Tees, died at the scene.

Mrs Ainslie said Miss Whitwell was a lively girl, studying theology and religion at York St John College, who loved working with children and hoped to be a teacher.

The magistrates fined Forster £400, plus £100 prosecution costs, banned him from driving for three years, and ordered him to retake his driving test.

Forster, of Turker Lane, Northallerton, pleaded guilty to careless driving, for which the maximum sentence is a fine. Neither he, nor Miss Whitwell's family who were in court, commented as they left.

Forster's solicitor, Colin Byrne, told the magistrates: "He has surrendered his licence to the court and will never drive again.

"He cannot put into words the sorrow that he feels and he appreciates this is not a conclusion for the family."

Mrs Ainslie said Miss Whitwell lived with her parents and normally travelled to York by train, but on January 13 had accepted a lift instead.

Miss Johnson, who was driving carefully and normally, suffered severe head and arm injuries in the crash and spent three days in hospital.

Lorry driver Garry Parkes, who was a "victim of circumstances", had whiplash injuries, said Mrs Ainslie.

Mr Byrne said that Forster accepted full responsibility for the crash. He rarely drove, but had come into York to shop and got lost. He then decided to do the U-turn.

A retired North-Eastern Electricity Board employee with an exemplary works record, he had driven for 63 years without any endorsements. Since the crash his previously good health had deteriorated.

He had bought the car for the sake of his now deceased wife and had driven only 2,000 miles in more than two years.

Updated: 11:10 Wednesday, October 15, 2003