A WOMAN whose life has been blighted by a brain injury flouted her driving ban with an illegal trip to her local shops, a court heard.

When she was being quizzed on her doorstep by police officers, the mother of 36-year-old Rebecca Henderson urged her daughter to “tell the truth”, Carlisle’s Rickergate court heard.

The defendant, of Holmrook Road, Carlisle, admitted taking the car without consent and driving while disqualified and uninsured.

Prosecutor George Shelley said police became involved on Christmas Eve last year after receiving reports of a Ford Focus car that was being “driven erratically” near to where the defendant lives.

Officers went to the home of car’s registered keeper, where they were met by Henderson, who admitted she drove the car.

“She said she’d just driven to the shops and back,” said Mr Shelley. “The mother then came outside and told her daughter that she had better tell the truth.

"She said she was disqualified from driving. The mother confirmed that she had no permission to take the vehicle.”

The prosecutor said the background was a brain injury that Henderson sustained several years ago, and the last year had been “difficult and challenging.” She had become forgetful.

Her mother said she should “absolutely should not be driving” on public roads.

“She could really harm somebody else,” said the mother.

She also said that fining her daughter would be “useless” as she would have to pay it. She suggested that a community order may do more to help her daughter understand the potential consequences of her actions.

District Judge John Temperley noted that Henderson was not deemed suitable for a mental health treatment requirement. Nor was she considered suitable for unpaid work or a curfew.

He imposed a 12-month community order which includes 10 rehabilitation activity days. Henderson was also fined £300, with costs, and fresh driving ban. “If you keep driving like this, custody will be very much an option,” warned the judge.