A LORRY driver from Chesham who killed a 23-year-old in a horrific crash as he pushed buttons on his new mobile phone has been jailed for four years.

Distracted by the phone, John Payne's 7.5 tonne truck ploughed into a queue of stationary cars on a motorway, instantly killing Trinity Taylor, pictured right, on October 17, last year.

The lorry smashed into her Peugeot hatchback at 47mph, halving its length and crushing Miss Taylor to death, Winchester Crown Court heard on Monday. Six other cars were written off and several drivers were injured in the seven vehicle pile-up which happened on the M3, near Basingstoke, in rush hour traffic.

The court heard that Payne, 31, of Black Horse Avenue, missed several signs warning of traffic queues because he was fiddling with a mobile phone he had never used before in the cab of the Ford Iveco lorry.

Andy Houston, prosecuting, said: "He ploughed into the back of Miss Taylor's Peugeot 206. A fire broke out inside her car and the car was so badly crushed that another motorist who rushed to the scene was unable to even reach inside the car to feel for a pulse."

Emergency services rushed to the scene of the crash but despite the desperate efforts to cut Miss Taylor from the mangled car she was pronounced dead at the roadside. The legal worker, who had given up her job to care for her poorly mother, had suffered massive internal injuries.

Payne, pictured right, who worked for transport firm Lane Group and was transporting jacuzzis from Hemel Hempstead to Dorset, escaped unsca-thed. He was arrested at the scene but initially denied ever using the mobile phone while driving.

Examination of the Motorola phone revealed that Payne had been scrolling through menus and would have had to press the handset at least four times just prior to the crash.

Payne only admitted causing death by dangerous driving as a result of using the phone in the week before his trial was due to begin.

The court heard that Payne was "utterly remorseful" and had not been able to drive since.

Judge Michael Brodrick jailed Payne for four years and ban-ned him from the roads for seven years. He said: "If anyone wants an indication of the dangers of using a mobile phone or other sorts of equipment in a vehicle they need look no further than the facts of this case. It resulted in the unnecessary and unlawful loss of a very valuable life and a person who contributed immensely to her friends and family."

Miss Taylor's mother Susan Munday, from Aldershot, told the court that Payne's actions had ended the life of a "happy, fun-loving, loyal and caring person".

She said: "She was dependable and touched many lives and bec-ame a caring and considerate young woman."