The heartbroken wife of a popular hairdresser screamed at the man whose driving had killed the dad-of-five.

Valentino Coleman – known as Tino - died with his daughter after a Mercedes Sprinter van ploughed into their car on the A299 Hengist Way.

The van driver, Sivananthan Mathivathanan escaped an immediate jail sentence after a judge heard he was now tormented by the double death.

Minutes later, Mr Coleman’s wife Nicola shouted at the 44-year-old business boss as he sat in the dock: "You are going home to your family now... I can’t."

The family were furious at what they claimed was a lenient sentence for causing the deaths of 49-year-old Mr Coleman and 21-year-old Olivia in October 2017.

A spokesman for the family, who also used to live in Gillingham, said after the hearing: “He is a double killer and he has got away with it. We heard all about his problems but what about ours?

"This isn’t justice. We feel very let down by the system.”

Earlier Mrs Coleman had told Canterbury Crown Court: “On that Monday night my once perfect life ended. My beautiful daughter and my darling husband were taken away forever.

“My idyllic life with my beautiful family living our dream life ended... the pain in my heart is unbearable.

“My best friend and soul mate, the father of my children. Now I have to live every day with a heart broken. How can I carry on living with all this pain, hurt, despair and anger?”

The couple had been married for 23 years and Mr Coleman had built up a successful hairdressing business in Market Building in Maidstone.

But then on that fateful Monday evening their daughter Grace, who works at Kent and Canterbury Hospital, had pulled over after suffering a flat tyre in her Renault Clio near Manston.

She called her dad who, after summoning roadside assistance, went to her aid together with her sister Olivia.

But as they waited by the side of the road, their car was struck by the van driven by Mathivathanan, of Grange Road, Broadstairs.

The impact catapulted the car and Mr Coleman and daughter died before they could get clear.

A jury later acquitted Mathivathanan of causing the deaths by dangerous driving. He had earlier admitted the lesser charge of causing death by careless driving.

Grace, in her personal statement, told the judge: “It’s so hard to put into words how I feel, other than empty.

"One normal evening coming home from work and then a few hours later I lost two of the most important people to me, my beautiful carefree talented big sister and my caring, funny and popular dad.”

Lisa Wilding QC said that Mathivathanan hadn’t driven or worked since the accident and was now suffering severe mental health issues as a result.

“He feels regret for the devastation he has caused and that he has ruined lives.”

Judge James O’Mahony said he didn’t have “a magic wand” and no sentence he could pass would restore Mr Coleman and his daughter back to their loving family.

“Tino Coleman was a successful hard working businessman and loving husband and father...all that was blown apart on a dark night by the criminal driving of the defendant.”

He passed a 10 month jail sentence suspended for two years and banned him from driving for three years.