Mills had daughter and eight-month-old son in car at the time of the crash

A mother who caused a crash that killed a pensioner had been distracted by a Barbie app on her four-year-old daughter's phone, a court heard.

Bekki Mills, 25, looked down at the device for a few seconds when her Audi A4 veered onto the wrong side of a dual carriageway and crashed head-on into another car.

Joseph Willis, 86, who was a passenger in the Peugeot 308, suffered fatal injuries and died two days later.

Bekki Mills, 25, looked down at the phone for a few seconds when her Audi A4 veered onto the wrong side of a dual carriageway and crashed head-on with another car

The accident happened on November 9 last year on the A350 near Blandford, Dorset, at about 3.10pm.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard Mills had both her daughter and eight-month-old son in the car at the time of the crash.

Afterwards police officers overheard her say at the scene say: 'It's my fault, I was looking at something on my daughter's phone'.

The mobile phone was examined and it was found that at the time of the collision a Barbie app was running on the phone.

Mills, from Verwood, Dorset, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving and causing death by careless driving without a licence.

John Rogers, mitigating, read aloud an email written by Mills, a former care worker.

The email said: 'Sorry is not a big enough word.

'Following the accident, I have become a different person, often being consumed with inconsolable grief at the life I brought to an end.'

Judge Peter Johnson sentenced Mills to eight months in prison suspended for two years and imposed a two-year driving ban.

He said: 'This on any view was a tragic incident lasting no more than 10 seconds, but leaving permanent consequences.'

Bournemouth Crown Court heard Mills had both her daughter and eight-month-old son in the car at the time of the crash

Speaking following the sentence, Police Sergeant Mark Farrow, of Dorset Police, said: 'This was a tragic and completely avoidable collision which resulted in one man losing his life.

'Mills' actions that day fell below the standard expected of any driver.

'Distraction or any use of a mobile phone while driving, even for a split second, can have devastating consequences and Mills will have to live with the knowledge that her actions resulted in an elderly man's death.

'Motorists are constantly warned of the dangers of driving while distracted and tragically this case acts as a stark reminder of this.

'I hope this sentence brings Mr Willis' family some sense of closure and our thoughts remain with them at this difficult time.'