The widow of a man killed in a high-impact crash told of the “catastrophic impact” his death has had on his family.

Doctor Darran Venn, aged 37 and of Portishead, died when his car was hit by a BMW driven by John Joe Darch on the B3157 coast road on May 17, 2017.

Darch was found guilty of death by dangerous driving in November.

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Reading a victim impact statement at Darch’s sentencing yesterday, Dr Venn’s wife Anna said Mr Venn was just six minutes from his office when the crash occurred.

He had been planning to make a cake for his eldest daughter’s birthday when he got home.

“From the moment I met him I knew he was the one - I knew he would be an excellent husband and father, she said.

The couple met while Dr Venn was in his final year of his PhD. They moved in together in 2005 and married in July 2010.

Their first daughter was born in 2011 followed by a second daughter in 2013, who shared a birthday with Dr Venn.

Mrs Venn said he was "utterly besotted" with his children and strived to be the best father he could be.

"Darran was a truly remarkable father. His face lit up when he talked about his girls," she said.

When the police knocked on her door to give her the news that Dr Venn had died, Mrs Venn said her life changed forever.

“Losing Darran has had a catastrophic impact on our lives. I became a widow at 34. His daughters were four and five,” she said. "The girls will lose out the most."

She added he was an incredibly hardworking and humble man, who threw himself into everything he did.

“Although he had the name of doctor, he was reluctant to use it. He never talked about his achievements unless asked," she said. "He played by the rules his whole life, all that hard work and effort taken away in a second."

Mrs Venn said there were no words that could describe the true impact Darran's death had had.