A MOTHER cleared of driving her car at a teenager who verbally abused her spoke today of her 14-months of anguish facing a jail sentence.

Diane Allcock, aged 43, of Stour Road, Tyldesley, said that justice had been done after she was cleared at Bolton Crown Court.

She was accused of dangerous driving and assault after confronting a group of youths she said had verbally abused her on a trip to the park with her eight-year-old son.

She said: "The jury did the right thing and I applaud them for what they have done. But after the verdict I just went into shock. I really thought that I was facing a jail sentence. It has been hell with this hanging over my head for 14 months. I cannot describe what it has been like. "Justice has been done for me but what about the youth who climbed on my bonnet? He could have done this six times before but nothing is ever written down on his record.

"He could easily do something like this again. That is the worrying part."

The court was told that Mrs Allcock was verbally abused by a group of youths in the park and when she followed them home a second group of young people confronted her.

Teenage witnesses to the incident claimed Mrs Allcock swore at them and then drove her car at the group, catching one boy a glancing blow and injuring his knee.

The incident happened on Sunday, June 25 last year when Mrs Allcock took her son to the park to play on the swings.

But when she got there she found all the swings had been wrapped round the crossbar making them useless.

Mrs Allcock asked the tallest of a group of teenagers to unravel the swings but told the court he refused and swore at her.

The group walked off and Mrs Allcock stayed in the park for a while but she spotted the youths later on and decided to follow them home.

She followed the group to Coombe Close where another group of teenagers were playing football in the street.

They alleged that following a conversation Mrs Allcock drove her car deliberately at them forcing them to jump over a garden fence.

Another boy in the middle of the street claimed he could not get out of the way and said he was hit by the car bonnet injuring his knee.

But Mrs Allcock maintained she had only asked the boys the name of the other boy who had verbally abused her and then as she left Coombe Close the boy jumped out in front of her, leapt on the bonnet and grinned at her.

Following the trial, Mrs Allcock added: "It has been an ordeal. But now I just want to get on with my life. I'm just glad it's all over.

"Without the support of my family and friends, I would not have been able to get through all this."