THE family of a grandfather who was killed in a road crash by a drunken lorry driver has welcomed a review recommending that the drink-drive limit be lowered.

Dennis Watts, 56, died after Didier Andre Gillis ploughed his articulated lorry into his tractor on the A35 Puddletown bypass on April 7 last year.

Gillis, 45, from the East Flanders region of Belgium, was three times over the drink-drive limit at the time of the crash.

Mr Watts’ sister Joan Dickinson, who lives in Dorchester, launched a campaign last year following the death of her brother, calling for tougher sentences for drink drivers.

She welcomed this week’s review by Sir Peter North but added more should be done.

Mrs Dickinson said: “Anything that they can do to make it tougher for drink drivers is good. Something needs to be done to make it more of a deterrent.

“Personally I think the drink-drive limit should be zero.”

Gillis fled the crash scene as Mr Watts, of Bere Regis, lay injured and was not breathalysed until three hours later after he was caught.

The 45-year-old was jailed for six years after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, failing to stop after a collision and failing to report an accident. He was also disqualified from driving for five years.

Mrs Dickinson added: “He (Gillis) was way over the limit and was an alcoholic. He shouldn’t have been driving at all.

“Any alcoholic shouldn’t even enter a vehicle because they know they are not in charge of their senses.”

Sir Peter, who conducted the first major review of drink and drug driving law since 1976, has recommended that the limit be cut from 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood to 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.

The North Review also recommends giving the police greater powers to check for drink drivers and that the automatic 12-month driving ban for a drink-drive offence is maintained for the lower limit.

The most recent figures show that 430 people were killed in drink-drive accidents in Britain in 2008, and there were 60 reported drug-drive deaths.