"THERE is no justice in this world. I am absolutely devastated."

These were the words of 51-year-old Dawn Glass on learning the man charged with careless driving, which led to the death of her partner Dennis Brigden, had walked free from court.

Dawn, of Waterton Avenue, Gravesend, said she and her family had been unable to get on with their lives since the fatal Hartley road crash in September 2003.

She slammed police, who mistakenly destroyed the lorry driven by Ronald Sandy before he appeared in court, and said she intended to file an official complaint about their handling of the case.

The family were also denied the chance to be at Maidstone Crown Court for the hearing after they were told the wrong date.

"When I heard about it last week I just felt sick – as if Den had been killed again. It was like going back to that first day.

"There are still so many things that I need to know. I haven’t even been able to register his death because a death certificate has not been issued."

With tears welling in her eyes, Dawn spoke about the impact the accident had on her and Dennis’ seven children.

She said: "My little girl Lisa was seven at the time. She still thinks her daddy is coming home.

"She picked out the brightest star in the sky and named it after Den. Every night we come outside and she says good night to him."

Dawn said the death of country and western music fan Dennis, who had been her partner for 20 years, had devastated everyone who knew him.

She said: "I still cannot close the book."

Ch Insp Simon Black, of North Kent Police, said: "Following the completion of all necessary police inquiries, including examination of the vehicle by police specialists and a separate independent examination of the vehicle by the Ministry of Transport (VOSA), the crash investigator released the lorry to the insurers of the vehicle.

"No allegation was made that there was any defect to the vehicle by the driver. The Crown Prosecution Service retrospectively approved the vehicle’s return.

"At the time the decision was taken to dispose of the vehicle it was not then anticipated that prosecution would be brought in relation to death by dangerous driving."

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