A DRUG driver has been jailed following a Christmas day crash with another car on the A127, where a woman passenger later died.

Jason Lockwood, 41, of Southbourne Grove, Westcliff, had smoked a joint before he got behind the wheel of a white Suburu.

He ran a red light at Kent Elms Corner, in Leigh, and crashed into a Peugeot 207 carrying Joyce Ashworth, 78.

Miss Ashworth had been returning to Godden Lodge retirement home, in Hart Road, Thundersley, at about 8.15pm that day after visiting her family. Instead, she suffered a heart attack, head and hip injuries, and ended up at Southend Hospital for a fortnight. She died a month after the crash.

However, Southend Magistrates Court heard she did not die as a result of the crash.

Lockwood pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention, while unfit through drugs, and failing to stop at traffic lights. He was jailed for eight weeks and also banned from driving for two years.