A motorist accused of deliberately reversing into another car was yesterday cleared by a crown court jury.

Joanne Humble was accused of driving slowly in front of a car driven by another woman through Shildon, County Durham.

On turning in to Byerley Way from Main Street, Mrs Humble, who had her two young children and a niece in the car, is said to have stopped her Volkswagen Golf before reversing twice into the Vauxhall Corsa driven by the other woman.

Durham Crown Court heard that both cars suffered minor damage, but no one was injured in the incident, on the evening of July 13 last year.

The court heard both women reported the accident, each giving differing accounts of what happened.

Police arrived to calm a confrontation that was developing at the scene, which resulted in the brother of the other motorist being arrested.

Four days later, Mrs Humble was arrested and charged with dangerous driving and trying to pervert the course of justice, relating to her complaint about the incident.

The 33-year-old, of Ruby Street, Shildon, denied both charges.

She admitted mouthing: "You little bitch", to the other woman as their vehicles drove alongside each other, but she said she was being 'tail-gated'.

Mrs Humble denied driving deliberately slowly and said she was shunted by the other car.

The jury returned not guilty verdicts on both counts after 15 minutes deliberation on the second day of the trial yesterday.

Judge Tim Hewitt discharged Mrs Humble and awarded her costs.