Fatal crash moped rider's widow tells court: my life has been ruined

Angela Martin was due to celebrate her 29th wedding anniversary with Gary, 52, just days after he was killed in the crash on Eastern Road.

Colas refuse worker Simon Boyd, who pulled out of Kirpal Road into Eastern Road in the crash, yesterday showed no emotion as he was convicted of causing death by careless driving.

Boyd, 39, of Chaffinch Walk, Waterlooville, had denied the charge at his trial at Portsmouth Crown Court.

He claimed he had ‘crept forward’ after twice stopping at the junction.

But a jury rejected this, convicting him after around four hours of deliberations.

In a victim personal statement read to the court, Mrs Martin said: ‘I now find I don’t sleep very well as I miss him so much.’

She added: ‘At the moment I don’t know how to put myself together. We had so many plans, I just feel my life has been ruined.

‘We don’t know how to put it back together, emotionally or financially. But not only me. This had a very bad effect on his mum, sister, nieces and nephews and both sides of the family and friends.’

Mrs Martin said the family had struggled to ‘come to terms’ with her husband’s death, even now many months on.

‘This could have been over months ago, it has caused so much stress for all the family, especially for me and my sister-in-law,’ she said.

She added: ‘I just wanted him to take responsibility for his action and for Boyd to admit what he had done.’

Outside court she thanked investigating officer PC Lucy Hawkins, family liaison officer PC Zonia Thompson and collision investigator PC Tony Clifford, along with witnesses who helped at the scene.

Mr Martin, from Gosport, had been travelling through Portsmouth on his Yamaha motor scooter from the Gosport Ferry terminal at The Hard.

Family of Mr Martin wept as CCTV was shown of his final journey through the city.

Pompey fans applauded in his honour in the 53rd minute of the Cambridge v Pompey game – held three days after the October 26 crash last year, on what would have been his 53rd birthday.

Boyd had been emptying dog excrement bins in Kirpal Road before the crash.

A Colas worker for 20 years, Boyd was covering for another worker.

Boyd, who refused to have a solicitor at police interview, needed an intermediary to explain proceedings.

When he gave evidence barristers were limited to who, why, what, when and how-type questions as he struggled to understand complex sentences.

The maximum jail term is five years.