A disabled widow who was severely injured when her motorised wheelchair was struck by a drunk driver in a stolen car has criticised the legal system for "ignoring the victims''.

Dorothy Hanson, 51, spent more than a week in Bradford Royal Infirmary after she was thrown into the road during the collision with a Vauxhall Cavalier.

The driver, Stephen Irwin, 20, of Wolston Close, Holme Wood, was yesterday sent to a young offenders' institution for a total of 21 months by Bradford Crown Court after he admitted aggravated vehicle taking and drink driving.

But Ms Hanson, pictured with 14-year-old son John, who was already suffering from severe arthritis before the crash, said she felt her pain and suffering had been ignored in the case.

She spent a week in hospital after the incident on March 12 and now spends most of her days in bed.

She said: "I have to lie down after getting changed because I'm so exhausted and there's nothing else to do.

"I've been reduced to crocheting dish cloths and colouring in my son's old painting by numbers books to fill in the time."

Ms Hanson, of Horton Bank Bottom, added: "It's bad enough being disabled without someone making it worse. This has set me back about two years.

"There was nothing in the charges to reflect the injuries I had. The victim always seems to be totally ignored."

Irwin had originally faced a third charge of dangerous driving. It was dropped before sentencing.

Irwin tried fleeing the crash scene, at the junction of Little Horton Lane and Fox Street, Bradford, but was rugby tackled by Bradford College student Andrew Jackson.

A Crown Prosecution Service spokesman said he was not able to comment on Ms Hanson's complaints.