A WOMAN who was found guilty of driving without due care and attention after causing serious abdominal injuries to another car passenger has been spared a disqualification.

Margaret Nicholson, 64, from Gainford, County Durham, who said she had no recollection of the incident or leading up to it, drove through a give-way sign and hit a silver Ford Fiesta head-on at 4.20pm on April 25 at Grinton crossroads, on Moor Road, near Leyburn.

The hearing at Northallerton Magistrates' Court on Tuesday (July 28) followed an earlier hearing in June to determine whether Mrs Nicholson would face an automatic disqualification.

Passenger Melanie Walsh was left with a tear to her liver and small intestine as well as a broken toe, and her husband who was trapped in the car suffered minor injuries.

The court heard the Fiesta collided with road signs and Mrs Nicholson’s car was embedded in a stone wall.

Mrs Nicholson said: “I can’t remember what happened that day after putting on my seatbelt, until after the accident when I was with the ambulance drivers.

“It was the first time I had ever been on that road.”

Magistrates spared her from disqualification but imposed nine points on her license and a £10 fine, £31 surcharge, £85 costs, and £150 criminal court charge.