A SAILOR who escaped a jail term after causing the death of a friend in an horrific car crash will remain free despite top judges ruling the sentence was "unduly lenient."

Anthony John Caine, 23, who grew up in Blackburn before moving to Newton, near Clitheroe, was sentenced to a 100 hours community punishment order, fined £750 and disqualified from driving for five years.

He had pleaded guilty at Taunton Crown Court on June 7 to causing the death of his passenger David Robert Hale, 24, by dangerous driving. London's Criminal Appeal Court agreed with submissions made on behalf of the Attorney-General Lord Goldsmith QC, that the sentence was "unduly lenient."

Lord Justice Rose, sitting with Mr Justice Pitchers and Mr Justice Treacy, said that at the time of sentencing in the Crown Court the case called for a short period of custody.

But he decided not to disturb the sentence because of "double jeopardy" -- the fact that Caine was enduring the trauma of effectively being sentenced for a second time.

Further, it would be Caine's first time in custody and he had already completed the community punishment order.

Caine was the driver of a Citroen car that collided with another car at Vagg Hill crossroads in Yeovil, Somerset on February 7 last year.

His workmate, Mr Hale, also a seaman, of Tarranto Hill, Illchester, died. A passenger in the other car sustained serious injuries

His barrister John Jackson, accepted that Caine deliberately drove across the junction at a speed of between 50 and 60 mph.

"But the case was approached on the basis that that was the consequence of inattention and a failure to recognise that junction, which he knew was there," he said.

In calling for a greater sentence, Mark Ellison, for the Attorney General, said the case was aggravated by excessive speed and the horrific consequences of the accident.

The Appeal Court ruled the public interest would not be served by increasing Caine's sentence and sending him to jail.