A woman has vowed to go to prison rather than pay a fine for motoring offences in protest at what she believes is a legal injustice.

Bradford magistrates fined Tracie Adams £40 and imposed five penalty points on her licence for driving without a licence, failing to stop after an accident and failing to report an accident.

The mother-of-three, of Springmill Street, West Bowling, Bradford, who represented herself in Court, said the accident happened when she climbed into the driver's seat of her car to turn on the heating while waiting for a friend. She said the car moved and she accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake, sending it crashing into a stationary vehicle. No-one was injured.

She believes an injustice has been done because a man involved in a road accident which killed her mother in 1992 was only fined £200 by a court after a charge of dangerous driving was reduced to careless driving. His licence was also endorsed and the court awarded £287 witness expenses.

Ellen Adams, 65, who lived in Armley, Leeds, had been to the funeral in Ireland of her sister who died from cancer. Later the same day, she was walking along Crumlin Road in Dublin with a friend when a car mounted the pavement and crashed into them. She was put on a life support machine but died five days later.

Ms Adams, 31, who suffers from a debilitating bone disease, said: "I'm going to refuse to pay the £40 fine. I'd rather go to prison. There's no justice in the legal system. I could've killed someone for another £160. I know we're talking about different countries, but similar things happen here."

She admitted leaving the scene of the accident involving her car in Cornwall Place, Bradford, last October, on the anniversary of her mother's death.

But she added: "I'd had a stressful day. I did wrong but it was an accident. I bought the car intending to learn to drive but I won't be able to because of my health. I was just waiting for my friend who drives for me. I hadn't been behind the wheel of a car before last October, and haven't been since."

A spokesman for Bradford Magistrates' Court said Adams could be summonsed to court again if she refuses to pay. She said every possible effort is made to recover money and prison was a last resort.

A spokesman for the Magistrates' Association said penalties in Britain for careless driving range from a fine of £75 to £450 plus three to nine points, or probation plus licence endorsement.

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