Wife of drugs 'Mr Big' who fled UK for Holland after killing primary school worker in high-speed crash is finally jailed Paula Barnes was jailed for eight years for death by dangerous driving She admits to killing teacher and mother-of-two Diane Wright After two years on the run she was arrested by Dutch police and extradited Her husband David Barnes is in prison for smuggling £25m of cannabis Barnes was jailed for 8 years today after she killed Mrs Diane Wright by drink driving The wife of a drugs 'Mr Big' who fled Britain after killing a primary school worker in a high-speed road crash was jailed for more than eight years today. Paula Barnes, 45, fled to Holland more than two years ago after being charged with causing death by dangerous driving. Her husband, David, is serving a 12-year jail term for smuggling £25 million of cannabis into the UK from Holland in a lorry loads of flowers. The couple led a lavish lifestyle funded by his smuggling operation of importing thousands of kilos of cannabis. British justice caught up with her in Holland in November last year and she was extradited to the UK where she finally admitted killing Diane Wright, 49. Passing sentence today at Swindon Crown Court, Judge Euan Ambrose said Barnes's driving placed her case in the most serious category for this type of offending. 'It is clear these offences are so serious that only an immediate custodial sentence can be justified,' he told her. This is a long course dangerous driving. You caused other road users to take evasive action. You only narrowly avoided two other head-on collisions. There maybe a strong sense of guilt but remorse requires, in my judgment, you to take or behave in accordance with that feeling. 'It is impossible to reconcile your actions in absconding and how that affected Mrs Wright's family with any real sense of wanting to put things right.' The judge imposed an eight year prison sentence for causing death by dangerous driving and a consecutive five month sentence for failing to surrender. Barnes showed no emotion as she was led away from the dock to begin her sentence. Mrs Wright was killed in the collision in Foxhill, Baydon, near Swindon in September 2010. The mother-of-two, from Royal Wootton Bassett, worked as a special needs teaching assistant at St Nicholas CoE Primary School in Baydon and was driving home in her BMW. When Mrs Wright failed to arrive home, her youngest daughter Lucy, then aged 17, was so worried that she went to look for her mother. She arrived at the police cordon near the scene of the crash where she was told of the news of her mother's death. Devastated: Mrs Wright with husband David and daughters Tracey and Lucy. The family described their devastation at her death in a statement The judge said that having read moving statements from Mrs Wright's husband, her father and her brother and sister, he could not fail to moved by the devastation her death had caused the family. They were a close-knit family. Mrs Wright was described in the statements as the lynchpin and the centre of the family,' the judge told Barnes. She was close to her parents and siblings and all of those around her have been devastated by her death. The effects for them will be profound and life-long. Mr Wright is an officer with the Met Police and was married for 23 years and together they had two daughters Tracey and Lucy. The judge said that as Mrs Wright drove home that day she was driving within the speed limit and sticking to the rules of the road. You, on the other hand, were not. You had been drinking that day. You were still over the limit five hours later that night and at the time of the incident your blood alcohol level was higher still. There is evidence from other road users of your driving prior to the accident. There is the evidence from Rebecca Thomas who saw you approaching her at speed. She estimates the speed you were travelling at was 100mph. Even allowing for the difficulty in making an estimate of the exact speed, it was clear you were travelling far, far too quickly. Not only were you speeding, you were travelling on the wrong side of the road, nearly hitting her car. Barnes had she pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and failing to surrender at Swindon Crown Court. Criminal: Her husband, David Barnes, is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence for importing cannabis worth £25m into the UK Mrs Wright's widower David, a sergeant in the Metropolitan Police, spoke of the devastation his wife's death had caused his family. Flanked by daughters Tracey and Lucy, Mr Wright said: 'We are pleased that Paula Barnes is now starting a prison sentence. It is two and a half years since this horrific accident, which changed our lives forever. 'Fleeing to Holland was a coward's way out instead of facing up to what she had done. We all thought she would never be found. Getting eight years and five months today will never be enough for what she has done. She has destroyed the family and the future together. Today we have a small amount of closure and we can try to move forward. I hope Paula Barnes realises what she has done, having totally wrecked our family happiness. Because of her stupid, mindless act on September 23, 2010 we are now a family of three. Diane was my wife and my best friend. We all loved Diane and we all miss her dearly and life will not be the same without her. Inspector Steve Cox, head of roads policing at Wiltshire Police, welcomed the sentencing. He said outside court: 'We are pleased with today's sentence as it reflects both the seriousness of these crimes and the anguish that Paula Barnes has put her victim's family through. This case has been a long and complex one after Barnes tried to evade justice by fleeing to Holland where she hoped to remain undetected. The fact she was caught, arrested, extradited and has now been sentenced is testament to the hard work and dedication of the Wiltshire Police serious collision investigation team. Barnes has proved to be a callous and manipulative woman who thought she was above the law. 'We hope that today, Diane's family can feel that justice has finally been served.' David Wright said Paula Barnes had robbed him of the love of his life when she killed his wife Diane. In an emotionally-charged three page victim impact statement he wrote of his loss. Diane was a fantastic wife, friend, mother and work colleague. There is not a day goes by without us all thinking of her and no words can express just how much we miss her, other than to say that our lives have been utterly devastated and that we miss her terribly. Diane left for work and never came back. She was on her way home from work to be with her family. [Barnes] drove straight into my wife and killed her instantly. At the same time she killed the hopes and dreams of so many other people. I have had take a considerable amount of time off sick and go for counselling as a direct result of this matter. Inside I have been falling apart, so much so that I have had to ask for help. We were a strong close family until the day Paula Barnes tore this family apart killing Diane. She then compounded matters by prolonging our agony and skipping bail to live abroad. This showed her absolute disdain for us, her failure to accept responsibility and her total lack of remorse. Our daughter Lucy was unfortunate to come across the incident and was told by police at the scene that her mum was dead. She will have to live with the sight of the mangled wreckage where her mother was killed for the rest of her life. Standing there at side of road with no-one to turn and no shoulder to cry on. It must have been awful. From the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed there is a gaping whole in my life. I often wake up in my sleep thinking that she is still alive only to turn over in the realisation that she is no longer with me. I miss her and love her dearly. Diane and I were looking forward to both retiring and embarking on a cruise or a bit of travelling. None of our dreams or aspirations are now possible due to a stupid, drunken, inconsiderate woman. 'I don't think that she will ever learn the extent of what she has done and the affect she has had on so many people - many of whom are in court today. Paula Barnes killed a wonderful wife and a wonderful mother. I want her to know that, I want her to know that for the rest of her life.