PULLING out of her parking space at a garden centre in Wroughton a woman managed to destroy the front end of the car parked next to her without noticing.

It was only three days later when an insurance company rang to say a claim had been lodged against her that she noticed the damage down the side of her own car. Katy Turnbull claimed she had the radio on and didn’t hear her Volvo rip the headlight out of the Renault Clio parked next to her when she came before magistrates sitting in Swindon on Wednesday.

Magistrate Jonathan Chappell urged her not to switch the radio on until she hits the open road in future.

The 31-year-old of Goddard Avenue pleaded guilty to one charge of driving without due care and attention after charges of failing to stop after an accident and failing to report an accident were both withdrawn by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Prosecutor Pauline Lambert explained to the bench that the offence had occurred on January 28. A couple had parked their Renault Clio in a parking space in the car park and gone into the garden centre, but had later returned to find it had been hit, with damage to the front wing, grill and bonnet, and the headlight had been knocked out of place completely.

Turnbull's defence, Alex Daymond, said his client had a clean licence, which she had held since 2002.

“At the time of this incident she was completely unaware that there had been a collision, and she explained to the police that the radio on in the car had been on. She also has a hearing problem."

She was fined £210 and has to pay a victim surcharge of £21 and court costs of £85. She will also have four penalty points imposed on her driving licence.