An 88-year-old Newcastle Emlyn woman has escaped a driving ban for driving at more than double the speed limit in a 20mph zone after magistrates heard she was “reliant on her car due to mobility issues.”

Valerie Wood, of 3 Mill Street, appeared before Llanelli Magistrates’ Court on 24 February.

The court heard that she was clocked driving at 43mph in a 20mph limit zone of the A484 in Cenarth on 1 September.

Magistrates handed Wood six penalty points, but decided against disqualifying her from driving under the totting procedure as she was “reliant on her car due to mobility issues” and the “isolation that a disqualification would impose would be exceptional hardship.”

She was also fined £120 and must pay £130 costs.