Woman with 'fear of driving' facing a ban for crawling along motorway at 10mph

A woman who suffers a driving phobia is facing a ban after police caught her crawling along a motorway at 10mph.

Stephanie Cole, 57, was spotted in her Malaysian-made Perodua Kenari with a sign in the back which read "I do not drive fast, please overtake", a court heard yesterday.

She was straddling the hard shoulder and the inside lane of the M32 in Bristol and, despite driving at walking pace, repeatedly jammed on her brakes.

Officers pulled Mrs Cole over, and she told them: "I'm scared. I've no confidence on the motorway. Last time this happened a policeman drove me there."

Mrs Cole, of Fishponds, Bristol, pleaded guilty by letter to driving without reasonable consideration.

In the letter read to North Avon Magistrates' Court Mrs Cole said her GP had been treating her for a "fear of driving" for the last three-and-a-half years.

She said: "I have suffered from a driving anxiety for some time and I have been receiving counselling for the problem. I apologise for my behaviour. I think a driver improvement course would help."