A CARELESS driver who left a woman with life-changing injuries has been given five points on her licence.

Sarah Bonner, 50, was sentenced at Salisbury Magistrates Court on Friday (March 17), after previously pleading guilty to driving without due care or attention.

She had been driving to work on the morning of October 25, 2016 when she came to the A360 Stoford Crossroads, and pulled out into the path of another car.

The resulting crash left the other driver with an open fracture to her arm, and an open wound on her hand.

Prosecuting, James Burnham said the injured woman, Rebecca Laurie, tried to call 999, but at that moment realised she couldn't control her right hand, which was "flapping around".

A car soon stopped to give assistance, with a man climbing into the back of the car to support Ms Laurie's back and neck.

When the emergency services arrived, she was then cut out of the car, before being taken to Salisbury District Hospital, where she remained for the next week.

Defending, Simon Goodman said his client had not used the junction since the crash, and had held a clean licence for 30 years.

In a statement read to the court, Ms Laurie said she did not blame Bonner, but the crash had a "momentous impact" on her life, and she had struggled in the aftermath.

She said: "I was unable to walk or stand for long periods, and I could not even cut my food or even get dressed."

Magistrates ordered Bonner, of Shady Bower, Salisbury, to pay £300 in compensation and court costs of £115.