A JUDGE last night led calls for a change in the law after issuing a two- year suspended jail sentence to an elderly driver who caused the death of a doctor.

Judge Michael Taylor criticised the present regime of applying for driving licences which allowed pensioner Ronald Addy to stay behind the wheel despite severe tunnel vision.

Addy, 82, of Murray Walk, Darlington, was yesterday found guilty unanimously by a jury at Teesside Crown Court of causing the death by dangerous driving of 47-year-old hospital pathologist Dr Ceri Williams, who worked at the town's Memorial Hospital.

He suffered fatal head injuries after being struck by Addy's VW Polo car as he cycled on the B6279 Staindrop Road, near Darlington, on April 3 last year.

Judge Taylor said nothing had been done to bring Addy's long-standing eye condition to the attention of the DVLA, which had renewed his licence, and said that a system of regular examinations and check-ups should be introduced.

At the moment, barring any arrest or court conviction, the legal requirement is on the driver to inform the DVLA of any medical condition which affects driving.

Sentencing Addy, the judge said there were exceptional circumstances, given his age and the fact that he suffered from angina and the early stages ofParkinson's disease, both of which were likely to worsen. He said: "You did not intend what happened on that day. To send you to jail would be cruel in the extreme and would serve no purpose to the public.

"You are not a danger to the community as you have surrendered your licence and you are now going to have to live with the consequences of this for the rest of your life."

Last night Dr Williams' widow Gaynor backed Judge Taylor's calls for a tightening up of the issuing of driving licences and said that those in the medical profession should bear some responsibility.

She said: "My only hope since my husband died has been that there might be some change in law that would make it less likely that this could happen to another family."

Mrs Williams, of Elton Parade, Darlington, a former midwife, said she and their three children had lost their best friend. She described how she had hugged her husband before he set off on his fatal bike ride and told him: "I love you".

In a statement she said: "Ceri's death was sudden and unexpected, a huge shock which has left us filled with numb helplessnes, with disbelief, horror and despair."

Earlier, the trial had heard how Addy had carried on working as an accountant until the age of 80 and also regularly took his grandson on journeys in his car. Defence counsel Stephen Ashurst said Addy had genuinely believed he was safe to drive.