A TEENAGE driver who knocked over and seriously injured a mum-of-three has been cleared of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

But 18-year-old Richard Bradley, of Whitby Drive, Blackburn, could still face jail after admitting inflicting grievous bodily harm after his car hit Elaine Haworth as he drove near her home in Priory Grange, Darwen, on August 15 last year.

Mrs Haworth suffered serious head and pelvic injuries in the collision and spent five weeks in critical units at Blackburn Royal Infirmary and Preston Royal Infirmary and four weeks recuperating at Queens Park Hospital, Blackburn.

Bradley had pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and inflicting grievous bodily harm but denied the more serious charge.

A jury of 10 women and two men took five and a half hours to return a verdict of not guilty.

Today Mrs Haworth's husband, Danny, who sat through the trial with his wife, said the family were disappointed with the verdict.

He said: "We came to court to find out exactly what happened on that day. We have heard little bits from different witnesses and have got the gist of what happened.

"Elaine is still having physiotherapy but at the moment we don't know what the future holds or if Elaine will get any better.

"We are disappointed with the verdict. People like that should be off the street. There are lots of young drivers out there but they are not all mad men."

Mr Haworth added: "Hopefully, we can put it behind us and, hopefully, Elaine will get her full health back and be a mother to her children the way a mother should be and be able to get back to work."

During a seven-day trial at Preston Crown Court, the court was told Bradley had gone with friends to St Peter's Primary School, Turncroft, where they had met up with a group of girls.

The group had then travelled in a car, which was being driven by Bradley's friend, to Abbey Place, on the Priory Grange estate, to meet someone else. Bradley said when he got out of the car a boy had started "mouthing off" and he had got back in the car with the intention of driving off the estate. He said he had driven away but had gone the wrong way down a dead end street and had turned the car around.

He said he had seen Danny Haworth, Elaine Haworth's husband, in the road and had moved to avoid him but he said he had not seen Mrs Haworth. The next thing he remembered was his windscreen shattering. He told the court that he thought it had been caused by a brick being thrown through his windscreen by the boy had been arguing with earlier and that he he had not stopped the car because he feared for his safety.

Bradley said he had continued driving but the car had started "juddering" because it had run out of petrol. He had walked to a nearby pub where he phoned a taxi. He said he had planned to report the incident to police the following day.

The teenager told the court he had only been aware that he had struck a person when police came to arrest him.

The court had previously been told that leading up to the collision the car being driven by Bradley, a silver Vauxhall Astra, would have been travelling at not less than 36mph. Bradley admitted that his speed had been excessive for the conditions of the road and that he had been driving dangerously. He accepted that he had hit Elaine Haworth but said he had not seen her before the collision and had not intended to hit her.

In adjourning the case until March 19 for pre-sentence reports, Judge Phillip Sycamore, said: "May I express my sympathy to Mrs Haworth and her family and wish her a continued and, hopefully successful recovery from the injuries."