The widow of a man killed when an articulated lorry jumped traffic lights and ploughed into his car said today nine months jail for the driver was "lenient".

Warehouseman Martin Chambers, 48, died four hours after the lorry smashed into his Nissan Micra on a fine afternoon at Keelham crossroads, Denholme Gate, in August 2001.

Bradford Crown Court heard that 11 seconds had elapsed between the lights turning red and lorry driver Matthew Johnson, of Winsford, Cheshire, crashing into Mr Chambers. Yesterday, he pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and was jailed for nine months.

Later, Mr Chambers' widow Gillian, of Moor Close Road, Queensbury, said: "It is lenient but in the end it does not bring Martin back. I hope this will affect the man who killed my husband. Losing him was bad enough but this has been hanging over me for 17 months and that makes it harder. This wasn't a momentary slip. I want to know what he was doing for 11 seconds."

She praised the investigating officer PC John Carter.

Jailing Johnson, Judge Robert Taylor, said the case was " one of the most difficult and agonising" a judge has to perform.

He said: "It is not intended to reflect the inestimable value of the life of your victim nor is it intended to address the grief and loss his family and friends must feel.

"Any sentence may seem wholly inadequate to those who loved him."

But he added: "It was not momentary inattention. There was a failure to see or respond to the traffic lights. You had 11 seconds to do so. You were driving too fast. If you had been within the speed limit this accident might never have happened."

Prosecutor Andrew Dallas told the court Johnson, 26, had been going at up to 41mph in a 30mph zone returning from making a series of deliveries across West Yorkshire in his Volvo lorry.

Mr Dallas said there had been no sign of braking and there was no suggestion Mr Chambers had done anything other than pull properly into the junction.

He said another witness said Johnson's driving earlier had been "cavalier" and "over confident".

He said there had been a suspicion that Johnson had been using a mobile telephone but there was no proof.

Nick Bleaney, mitigating, said: "This was clearly more that momentary inattention and we accept the 11 second delay. This is quite out of character for this defendant," he said.

"He does not want sympathy and he has expressed his sorrow and remorse and wishes he could put the clock back."

He said he had wanted to contact the family to express his sympathy but had been advised against it.

"He is responsible, caring thoughtful and a man who took his eye off the ball for 11 seconds," he said.

Johnson was also disqualified from driving for six years and ordered to retake a test before driving again.