A lorry driver who caused the death of a scooter rider in Haverfordwest had himself lost a brother killed while on a motorbike, a judge heard on Friday.

Moped rider Mark Waite was run over and killed by a milk tanker after its driver had a "momentary" lapse in attention.

Stephen Brady, a professional driver, had failed to check the "blind spot" in front of his lorry and now "was consumed by guilt."

Brady -a driver in the Army, in the taxi trade, and as a HGV driver for more than 40 years - had an unblemished record at the time of the collision.

A judge said it was the "cruellest of fates" that his short-lived mistake behind the wheel should cost a man his life.

Swansea Crown Court heard that at around 4.30pm on February 15, 2018, Mr Waite was riding his 125 scooter towards the Salutation Square roundabout in Haverfordwest.

Driving behind him, as he had been for the previous almost three minutes, was Brady in his milk tanker.

The court heard both vehicles stopped at the roundabout, which was busy with traffic, before the lorry pulled off - hitting Mr Waite and running over him.

The 43-year-old died at the scene.

Mr Hipkin said the speed of the HGV at the time of the impact was estimated at 7mph.

In his subsequent police interview 58-year-old Brady told police how he heard a "bang" from under this vehicle, and initially though a tyre had blown.

The prosecutor said it was the prosecution's case that Brady had known Mr Waite - who was wearing a an orange hi-vis jacket - was ahead of him having followed him along the road for the previous two minutes and 48 seconds, but failed to check his blind spot dashcam mirror to see if he was still there before pulling off at the roundabout.

Brady, of The Glebe, Tenby, had previously pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.

The court heard a statement from the victim's older brother, Adrian, in which he said the death of Mr Waite had devastated the family.

He said the family "were not out for revenge" and were not angry at Brady - but were angry at what had happened, and wanted to know the truth about the incident.

In a statement from Mr Waite's mum, Janet Rees, she said her heart had been broken by the loss of her youngest child.

She said whether Brady had been driving carelessly or dangerously did not change the fact that his driving was responsible for her son's death.

She added: "Mark has lost his life, in many ways, I have lost mine too."

Kate Blumgart, for Brady, said there was no suggestion the defendant's driving had been other than appropriate prior to the incident.

She said at the roundabout Brady's attention had been directed to the traffic in front of him and to the right, and he had assumed the scooter - which he had seen earlier - had pulled away onto the roundabout.

The barrister described it as an "momentary inattention".

She said the death of Mr Waite had had a profound effect on the defendant, whose own brother had been knocked down and killed while riding a motorbike as a teenager.

Ms Blumgart said Brady was seeking counselling to deal with the death, and described himself as being "consumed by guilt".

She added that Brady had joined the Army after school and had served as a driver in the Royal Artillery before working as a cabbie, distribution driver, and then tanker driver, and in 40 years behind the wheel had an unblemished record.

Judge Paul Thomas QC said death by careless driving cases were some of the most difficult to sentence, and no sentence a court could impose could begin to compensate the family of the deceased for the loss they felt.

He told Brady: "It is a rare, possibly unique, driver who makes no mistakes in his driving career. It is the cruellest of fates that your short-lived error had such terrible consequences."

Judge Thomas said the case clearly crossed the custody threshold but given the defendant's previous driving record, his guilty pleas, and genuine remorse he was able to suspend the term.

Brady was sentenced to 26 weeks custody suspended for 12 months, and was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and a rehabilitation course. He was also banned from driving for two years.