A lorry driver has been convicted of causing a collision in which a police officer was killed.

Danny Warby, 28, was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving in connection with the death of Sharon Garrett.

A jury at Peterborough Crown Court reached the verdict following a seven-day trial.

The court heard Warby, of School Road, Runcton Holme, King’s Lynn, had only been driving for two minutes prior to the collision but had been using his mobile phone and responded to a text message.

He was also breaking the speed limit as he drove a lorry along the A141 at Wyton, where the crash happened at 4.35pm on June 6, 2014.

Warby’s lorry was in collision with Mrs Garrett’s Renault Clio as well as another car and lorry.

Warby has been remanded in custody for sentencing on September 12.

In a statement, the family of Sharon Garrett said: “We would like to express our thanks to the officers involved in the investigation, the prosecution team, and of course the jury in reaching this verdict.

“The whole family remains devastated by what happened in June 2014. Sharon was a wonderful woman, a hard-working and dedicated police officer. She meant so much to so many. Sharon was a fantastic mother who has been taken from her two young children in such tragic circumstances. Nothing can ever bring Sharon back, and words can never express how much we all miss her.”

PC Pete Bimson, who investigated the collision, said: “This was a tragic incident which claimed the life of a police officer. But the evidence heard in court showed it could have been avoided and it really drives home the message that using a mobile phone at the wheel can have fatal consequences.

“Driving while using a phone is one of the ‘fatal four’ driving offences, along with speeding, not wearing a seatbelt and drink or drug driving, for a very good reason: it can devastate lives.

“Use of a mobile phone will be picked up by officers investigating the causes behind any collision and it’s an offence taken very seriously by police and the courts.”

Detective Constable Garrett, 48, joined Cambridgeshire Constabulary in 1991 and served in a number of roles across the force, most recently investigating complex fraud offences in the Economic Crime Unit.