THE FAMILY of a woman who was killed by a courier driver who fell asleep whilst working have called on prosecutors to appeal the man's two year jail sentence.

The Kousar family want the Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC to seek the imposition of a longer jail term on 60-year-old Stephen Clarke.

The motorist, of Wednesbury, West Midlands, was jailed at the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday for his role in the December 2014 death of Farzana Kousar on the M74 motorway near Lockerbie.

He had travelled more than 200 miles before ploughing into a Toyota car which Farzana had been travelling in. The vehicle had stopped on the road's hard shoulder.

He fell asleep at the wheel of his Mercedes Sprinter van which drifted across the carriageways and killed Farzana, who was 39 at the time of her death.

She repeatedly said "I'm dying" while lying injured on the busy roadside.

On Monday, judge Lord Boyd jailed Clarke after defence advocate Matt Jackson told the court that his client was sorry for what he had done.

Lord Boyd also ordered Clarke, who pleaded guilty last December to causing death by dangerous driving, to be disqualified from driving for four years.

The judge said that he was following sentencing guidelines and that if Clarke had pleaded not guilty and gone to trial, he would have been given a three year sentence following conviction.

Lord Boyd said: "It is difficult to find words to describe the impact on Ms Kousar's family and friends.

"I note that she has four children ranging in ages from 21-years-old to four-years-old. The youngest was only two-years-old at the time of her mother's death.

"I have read the victim statement prepared by Ms Kousar's mother on behalf of the family. It makes heart breaking reading. There is nothing I can do or say that can compensate them for their loss. "You are 60-years-old. You are a first offender with a hitherto clean driving record.

"You have also shown awareness of the impact of the accident on Ms Kousar's family and offered your personal apology for taking her life. You have shown considerable remorse.

"You have pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity. You have thus acknowledged your guilt and avoided the necessity of a trial with all that might entail for the victim's family."

However, the Kousar family, of Glasgow, objected to the sentence. In a statement given to the press following the hearing, they spoke of their anger at the "lenient decision".

The statement said: "We don't feel justice has been done here. We are angry and very frustrated by Lord Boyd's decision. We would like the Crown to appeal this decision.

"We feel that it gives people permission to fall asleep at the wheel of their vehicles - it sends the message that they won't be properly punished for not taking care on the roads.

"Mr Clarke will be out of jail soon enough. He'll be able to go back to his family and enjoy their company. We will spend the rest of our lives grieving for the loss of our loved one."

In December 2016, the High Court in Glasgow heard how self employed Clarke was a self employed courier who was taking work from UK Express Logistics.

Advocate Depute Bruce Erroch told the court that Clarke had left Coventry at 1.20am on the morning of December 22 2014. He stopped at Southwaite Services around 5am.

He was on his way to Glasgow when the collision happened on the motorway where Farzana, who lived in Glasgow's Merchant City, was a passenger in a car parked on a hard shoulder.

She had opened the door of the car and was making her way out the Toyota around 5.30am. She was going to check the vehicle because the engine was overheating before the fatal collision.

Just before her car stopped, another lorry driver, Frank Keillor saw Clarke's van overtake him then "drift into the middle lane" forcing him to brake.

Mr Erroch told the court: "The van drifted back out again and then into the hard shoulder."

Mr Keillor saw Clarke's van appear to "jolt" and accelerate during these manoeuvres, causing him to think the driver was asleep.

Mr Erroch added: "Clarke accepts that he was indeed falling asleep at this point in the journey and that he fallen asleep at the point of collision."

Clarke's van veered fully into the hard shoulder and smacked into the Toyota, sending it into a spin before it came to rest in the middle lane.

Immediately after the crash, passer bys stopped to help and a man called Craig Usher saw Farzana lying on the road.

The court heard the driver of the car wasn't injured and Farzana was able to tell Mr Usher that she had pain in her back and she was dying.

Paramedics then pronounced her dead at 6.11am.

Clarke told those nearby: "Oh God, what have I done? Is she dead? I didn't see the car."

The court heard that when police interviewed Clarke, he wasn't able to tell them whether he had fallen asleep.

Defence counsel Matt Jackson said the working practices of the sub contracting firm were investigated after a similar collision near the same area took place a month earlier.

Mr Jackson said the investigation into that suggested fatigue had been a contributing factor.

On Monday, Mr Jackson told the court that his client had expressed remorse for what he had done.

Mr Jackson added: "He has instructed me to offer the family of Ms Kousar his deepest and most sincere apologies."

Lord Boyd also expressed concern about the 'pressures' that Mr Clarke was subjected too.

Lord Boyd added: "It is also clear that you were expected to work long hours for little pay. I understand that drivers would be fined £50 if they turned work down.

"It is very concerning to learn of the pressures that appear to be placed on self employed delivery drivers such as you.

"It may be that there is a more general issue to be addressed to ensure that road safety is not compromised by drivers who may feel that they are put under pressure by their employers to work beyond safe limits.

"To your credit you have not sought to rely on any pressure from your employer. You take full responsibility for what happened."