NO phone call or text is more important than a life.

Those were the words of a grieving Southampton widow who lost her husband when a distracted lorry driver ploughed into the back of his motorbike.

Alan Couper, 62, a grandfather of four from Upper Brownhill Road, died at the scene of the crash on Stockbridge Road in Leckford on April 14.

Lorry driver Roy Woods, 58 from Forest Drive, Tidworth in Wiltshire is now facing five years behind bars and a received a seven-and-a-half year driving ban.

Winchester Crown Court that Woods was using a headset to take a phone call which, although legal, led to him being distracted.

Mr Couper's widow Helen pleaded for people to stop using their phones when driving.

Mrs Couper said: "We as a family do not want another life taken from someone else's selfishness and disrespect for others that use the road.

"No phone call or text is more important than someone else's life."

"What is five years imprisonment? This will achieve nothing, the driving licence should be taken away forever."

The court heard that when Woods crashed, he had been in conversation with a friend for several minutes.

Overall, Woods had spent one hour and 46 minutes of the five hours he had driven that day in phone conversations.

At the point of impact Woods' lorry was travelling at 45mph in a 50mph zone.

He was heard swearing by his friend as he tried to brake seconds before the crash.

A 55-year-old motorcyclist from King's Somborne was also injured in the collision.

In mitigation, defending Woods, Stephen Requena said the defendant had sneezed just moments before the crash, which was one of the reasons he did not react in time to seeing Mr Couper's bike.

He told the court that Woods was devastated and remorseful, and did not realise using a headset was a distraction.

Sentencing Woods, Judge Keith Cutler said that Woods had not been concentrating fully on the road at the time of the crash.

"You were clearly busy on the phone. Your concentration was impaired you were driving too fast with no realistic expectation that any vehicle or a bike would be in front of you."

Senior investigating officer from Hampshire Constabulary, Richard Thorpe said: “His driving while speaking on the phone was a ticking time bomb and it was this distraction that caused him to drive dangerously.

“Had he waited to call his friend back when he was no longer behind the wheel, Mr Couper would be alive today and his family would not be faced with a future without him.

“This case acts as a tragic reminder as to why we advise motorists to leave their mobiles phones out of sight and out of reach."

HE had the biggest heart and was an amazing dad and grandad.

These were among the tributes paid to grandad-of-four Alan Couper, who lost his life when his bike was struck by a lorry driven by Roy Woods.

Mr Couper, was an avid Saints fan who held a season ticket for many years.

He had been married to Helen Couper for two years, and the pair were looking forward to retirement together.

His daughter Claire Couper said:"He was the coolest dad and grandad he was just like one of the boys, so young at heart with plenty of life left in him."

"I feel absolutely heartbroken and devastated,the sadness I feel is unbearable.

"Where do I go from here? How will my life be without him?”

“On that day my life changed forever, I am no longer Claire Couper, I’m the little girl whose dad was killed. I will never get over this. I will love and miss my best friend, my hero, my dad until we meet again.”