AN ELDERLY man has admitted causing a fatal crash at an accident blackspot earlier this year.

John Robert Lawton, of Marston Close in Blandford, was behind the wheel of a blue Ford Focus when the car hit a silver Toyota Avensis on the morning of March 12.

The collision, which took place on the B3082 Badbury Rings road at the Sturminster Marshall junction, injured six people.

Gwendoline Jordan, a rear-seat passenger in the Toyota, was airlifted to Southampton General Hospital with serious injuries.

Despite the efforts of medical staff, the 84-year-old, who lived in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, died in hospital on Tuesday, April 11.

An 85-year-old man and a 64-year-old woman from the Toyota were taken to Poole and Salisbury District hospitals respectively with slight injuries.

Lawton, an 89-year-old man and a 72-year-old woman, all of whom were travelling in the Ford, suffered minor injuries.

Police launched an investigation in the crash.

Witnesses described the Ford turning right across the path of the oncoming Toyota.

Lawton, 76, was later charged with causing death by careless driving.

He admitted the charge at Poole Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, August 29, and was sentenced to a community order with a three-month curfew requirement.

He was also disqualified from driving for 12 months and ordered to pay costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £85.

Inspector Joe Pardey, of Dorset Police's traffic unit, said: “This was a tragic incident that sadly resulted in the death of an elderly woman and my thoughts are with their family.

“I hope this sentence at least offers the family some sense of closure now that the legal proceedings have been concluded.

“This sad case demonstrates that any motorist from any part of the community getting behind the wheel of a car is in charge of a potentially lethal machine and highlights the need to drive responsibly and carefully at all times.”