A WOMAN reversed her car into a traffic warden in an attempt to get out of paying a parking ticket.

Rachel Feilden, 53, forced the traffic warden to jump clear after she returned to the Bridge Street car park, Bradford on Avon, last June to find the warden writing a ticket. After an argument,

she refused to wait for the warden to finish and reversed the car into her before speeding off.

Feilden, of Tellisford, Bath, pleaded guilty to common assault at Chippenham magistrates' court on Monday.

Jane Pattison, prosecuting, described how the traffic warden had allowed parkers more than 10 minutes of extra time before beginning to issue tickets.

Feilden returned to her car and the warden said she had to finish writing the ticket, and asked her to wait.

The traffic warden was standing directly behind Feilden's car.

Miss Pattison said: "The traffic warden noted that she started to reverse out of the parking bay.

"She came out slowly at first but the car touched her legs. She walked three or four steps with her pushing her along."

Miss Pattison said the traffic warden had been upset by the incident because she felt she had only been doing her job, and had since had trouble sleeping and suffered bad dreams.

Andrew Watts-Jones, defending, said no injury was caused and that the car had been used in the same way a hand would be used, to push someone away.

He said Feilden realised her behaviour was not appropriate.

"This is not the sort of thing that ladies like her do," he said.

He said the traffic warden should also be expected to have a 'certain degree of robustness' as part of her job.

Feilden was fined £300 and ordered to pay £50 compensation and £45 costs.