Linda Jenns, 49, from Ashford, Kent, has been put in jailed for two-and-a-half years despite her barrister claiming she was too fat for prison

A morbidly obese motorist who killed a jogger but claimed she was too fat for prison has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Unemployed Linda Ann Jenns, who weighs 30 stone, mowed down 45-year-old Paul Stinton after she jumped a red light in her white Ford Kuga.

But, despite being found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving, her barrister urged a judge not to jail the 'grossly overweight' woman because he claimed she would not be able to cope with life behind bars.

Today, at Canterbury Crown Court, Judge Heather Norton ignored the mitigation and handed down a jail term.

She told the 49-year-old: 'The collision came about because you drove through a red light. It is that simple. You were driving too fast for the wet conditions and you jumped the lights.'

In mitigation after she was convicted, barrister Ian Bridge told the court how Jenns, from Ashford, Kent, had a stroke seven years ago and was receiving treatment for her weight problem.

He said she had lost between five and six stone and was also hoping for a gastric band to be fitted which would increase her life expectancy.

He told the court: 'She is grossly overweight, morbidly obese and since the incident has put on even more weight.

'She is a person for whom a prison sentence would be extraordinarily difficult and I don't think I exaggerate when I say she might not get through it.'

Today, adding to his mitigation, Mr Bridge said that Jenns had also been subjected to 'the modern-day equivalent of the stocks' following press coverage of the case.

The barrister claimed that one of Jenns's relatives even had to be taken out of school after allegations of bullying.

Unusually, Jenns was also allowed to enter the crown court through a side door rather than the public entrance after an application from her lawyers.

Unemployed Linda Ann Jenns, who weighs 30 stone, mowed down 45-year-old Paul Stinton after she jumped a red light in her white Ford Kuga. Pictured: The scene of the crash in Ashford, Kent

Jenns had pleaded not guilty to the charge, maintaining that she had not jumped the red light. She tried to argue that Mr Stinton had crossed against a red pedestrian light

Mr Bridge added that Jenns was 'very, very, very sorry for what happened.'

She had pleaded not guilty to the charge, maintaining that she had not jumped the red light.

She tried to argue that Mr Stinton - whose fiancée Ulrika Wernmark sat in the public gallery - had crossed against a red pedestrian light.

But the judge said that Mr Stinton's actions did not contribute significantly to the likelihood of a collision.