An elderly driver who killed a much-loved grandmother when he crashed into a coffee shop on Christmas Eve has been handed a suspended jail sentence.

David Lord, 87, appeared at Maidstone Crown Court today after admitting causing death by dangerous driving in November following the smash in 2015.

The frail pensioner was handed a 22-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. He was also banned from driving for five years.

VIDEO: The vital moments before Lord crashed into the Costa Coffee shop

Valerie Deakin, 74, of Rye, was killed when Lord's car smashed through a window at Costa Coffee in Westerham.

Prosecutor Ian Hope said Lord turned into High Street in his powerful Audi A4 Quatro and accelerated, colliding with vehicles and narrowly missing pedestrians.

The impact of the car bursting through the window of the coffee shop was "akin to an explosion".

The married mother-of-two was sitting near the window in Market Square at about 10.30am with her best friend when the tragedy happened.

Her daughter Marie-Ann was in the toilets at the time.

Mrs Deakin, who was sitting near the window, was "thrown entirely across the coffee shop".

She struck the wall on the far side above the counter.

"She was almost certainly killed immediately on impact," said Mr Hope.

"The car literally ended up in the middle of the coffee shop. There were numerous injuries and walking wounded inside."

The injured inside and Lord were taken to hospital with a fractured breast plate.

Mr Hope said the car had no mechanical defects and the tragedy was caused by "pedal confusion" with Lord pressing the accelerator instead of the brake.

"It was the only reasonable explanation for the accident. It is a recognised phenomenon, more common among elderly drivers. "Once the driver made the mistake of pressing the accelerator instead of the brake they keep accelerating by panic."

Jeffrey Yearwood, defending, said of Lord: “He is extremely sorry he is the cause of her death.

"He has written a letter that expresses his great sorrow and remorse in causing that death.

“He hopes the family will be able to read that letter and may find it in themselves to forgive him and meet with him. He would like that opportunity to speak to them on a face to face basis.”

Mr Yearwood said it had been a tragedy which had an adverse effect on the lives of everyone it had touched.

“His driving was not persistent, neither was it deliberate,” he continued. “This was a dreadful mistake which arises from confusion.

“The mistake of unfortunately pressing the brake pedal is something that increases with age.”

The grandfather, who had held a driving licence for 65 years, had intended to slow down and stop and avoid causing any harm, said Mr Yearwood.

He will have to take an extended test if he decides to drive again. He was ordered to pay £1,500 towards the prosecution costs.

Judge David Griffith-Jones QC told Lord: "In all the circumstances, while this offence plainly crosses the custody threshold and demands I impose a sentence of imprisonment, I take the view it is appropriate to take a merciful course and suspend the operation of the sentence.

"In doing so, I have in mind in particular the effect an immediate sentence of imprisonment would have on your wife."

Passing sentence, the judge said: “Christmas Eve 2015 turned out to be a day of great tragedy.

“Such was the impact, your vehicle was entirely inside the coffee shop when it finally came to rest and, tragically, Valerie Deakin was struck and died from her injuries.

“The nature of your driving that day was quite extraordinary. It posed a considerable and quite obvious danger to members of the public and ended with the catastrophic consequences I have described.

“It is plain you have struggled to come to terms with what happened and were unable to explain how it came to cause your vehicle to take such an erratic and seemingly uncontrolled path.”

The judge said he did not find that Lord’s struggle to find an explanation was dishonest.

“It was a product of your own incredulity as to how you could have driven in the way you accepted you did,” he continued.

Neither was it surprising that his legal team sought some sort of medical explanation, as it was going to be suggested there was an epileptic seizure.

“In the circumstances, you accept I must sentence you on the facts as advanced by the prosecution – that is you exhibited a gross and fatal error of judgement which manifested itself in your mistaking the accelerator for the brake, allowing the vehicle to continue as it did with disastrous consequences.”

“Christmas Eve 2015 turned out to be a day of great tragedy" - Judge David Griffith-Jones

Mrs Deakin’s death had a devastating effect on those close to her.

“No sentence I could ever pass will ever provide any sort of recompense to Valerie Deakin herself or sought to alleviate the ongoing pain and suffering experienced by her family and friends who have felt her loss so deeply.

“It goes without saying the harm caused by the offence was extreme. Thankfully, by the grace of God it is not a case in which multiple deaths were caused, as could so easily have happened.

“I proceed to sentence on the basis your dangerous driving was a product of not any deliberate action on your part, but a catastrophic mistake.”

The court was shown CCTV footage showing Lord's car colliding with several vehicles for 30 metres, before smashing into the shop.

Lord, of Croydon Road, Westerham, and his passenger were among five people injured in the crash which left the car embedded in the side of the building.

Witnesses reported seeing people covered in blood as they left the cafe.

Mrs Deakin's husband Paul is among those in the public gallery for today's hearing. The court heard they had been married for more than 50 years.

At a previous hearing a judge was told Lord most likely hit the accelerator rather than the brake and had lied about the run-up to the crash on several occasions.

He said there was flashing error light on the dash which distracted him even though there was no mechanical fault detected and at first said he had not suffered a medical episode but later changed his story.

Judge Jeremy Carey previously adjourned sentence pending a medical report after hearing Lord had likely suffered a complex partial seizure at the time of the crash, which might explain the flashing light he saw.