A man has been jailed for three years for killing a 75-year-old as he walked hand-in-hand with his wife on a pavement.

Khuram Mahfooz, 25, was convicted of death by dangerous driving after he took a corner too fast and hit Sydney and Ivy Freeman in Cumberland Avenue.

During the trial, Mrs Freeman spoke of the moment her husband was killed.

She described how her husband's “eyes were closed and he looked like he had gone to sleep” as he lay on the pavement.

Mrs Freeman said she and her husband had been to visit friends in Maidstone when the tragedy happened on June 27 last year.

“We had a fabulous afternoon with our friends,” Mrs Freeman said in a statement read to a jury at Maidstone Crown Court. They walked along the pavement in Cumberland Avenue either arm-in-arm or holding hands.

“I was on the inside,” she said. “Syd always made sure I was walking inside. I heard a loud thudding noise behind me.

“A fraction of a second after the thud noise I suddenly felt a heavy blow. I was taken clean off my feet and thrown forward towards the road. I saw a flash of a white car as it hit me.

“I remember lying on the pavement with my feet on the road. Syd was quite a distance from me. His eyes were closed and he looked like he had gone to sleep. I kept telling everyone to go and help Syd, as he was not moving.”

The prosecution said the great-grandfather was killed by a speeding Honda Civic driven by Mahfooz.

He almost hit a single decker bus before losing control of the car as he turned into Cumberland Avenue, and hitting Mr and Mrs Freeman.

Mahfooz, of Northumberland Road, Shepway, claimed that the car had "jumped" as he changed gear, and he struggled to regain control.

Mr Freeman suffered fatal injuries. His wife escaped with a broken right ankle.