Driver blames virus stress for failure to notice Audi prang

A WEALTHY businesswoman who pranged an Audi in her Mercedes has been cleared of failing to report the accident because she was afraid of catching coronavirus, a court heard.

Andrea Francis unintentionally scraped the parked vehicle while attempting to reverse into a bay while shopping in Hale, near Altrincham, on Aug 7 last year.

Ms Francis, who earns £140,000 a year as managing director of a pharmaceutical company, drove away leaving the Audi with dents in its rear side.

She was traced by police after the registration number of her Mercedes was caught on CCTV cameras.

The 66-year-old, who lives near Knutsford in Cheshire, was charged with failing to stop and report an accident, but was cleared after insisting she hadn’t realised a prang had taken place.

Ms Francis told Tameside magistrates’ court: “I had been previously diagnosed with a chest infection and was at high risk of catching Covid. I had been shielding for three months. I was feeling anxious and upset as I did not know how things were going with Covid. I did not want to extend my trip.”

She was given six penalty points on her licence and fined £1,500 after she admitted careless driving.