Liaquat Ali, who knocked down and killed Bradford grandmother Kathleen Farman, has sentence cut on appeal

Liaquat Ali, 31, was locked up for five years two months at Bradford Crown Court in March after he admitted causing death by dangerous driving.

Mrs Farman, 54, suffered catastrophic injuries when Ali hit her near Bradford’s Broadway shopping centre in September last year.

She was jogging across Hall Ings at the time, Mr Justice Goose told London's Appeal Court.

PREVIOUS STORY: Speeding driver jailed

PREVIOUS STORY: Woman killed crossing road is named

Ali had overtaken a van while approaching the traffic lights, and was travelling at 49mph in a 30mph zone.

Immediately before the collision, Ali “turned sharply to his offside" to overtake the van, the court heard. An eyewitness said later that he was “driving like an idiot”.

“Despite the best efforts of emergency services at the scene, Mrs Farman's her life could not be saved,” the judge added.

“Had Ali been driving within the speed limit, she would have successfully crossed the road.”

Mrs Farman’s death took a devastating toll on her family. Married for 35 years, she had eight beloved grandchildren.

Passing sentence at the Crown Court, Judge Durham Hall had described the tragedy as “sadly inevitable, sooner or later”.

“It is sadly well-known that this particular stretch (of road) is treated by some drivers with complete indifference to the risk of others.”

Mr Justice Goose, sitting with two other judges, told the Appeal Court: “The effects of Mrs Farman's loss have been profound.”

Ali, of Leeds Road, Bradford, challenged his punishment today, claiming it was far too tough.

The appeal judge noted his remorse and guilty plea, going on to reduce his sentence from 62 to 58 months.

Judge Durham Hall had focused too much on the frequency of incidents on the particular stretch of road, he said.

“We are satisfied that, in treating community impact evidence as an aggravating factor of this offence, the court fell into error,” ruled Mr Justice Goose.