A WOMAN who was hospitalised for eight days when she was knocked down by an uninsured driver in Dewsbury is urging prosecutors to be tougher on those who commit driving offences.

Her call comes after the driver that caused her injuries escaped without a driving ban.

Jane Pratt, 50, was left with multiple injuries including fractures to her skull, pelvis and ankle when she was run over on a zebra crossing on Bradford Road on December 7, 2010.

Even though Batley and Dewsbury magistrates ruled that the driver, who was driving his uncle’s car and was uninsured, was at fault for the crash, they chose not to hand out a driving ban because the driver had only been charged with careless driving.

Instead Afzal Ebrahim Shaikh, from Batley, was ordered to pay a £1,000 fine and given eight penalty points on his licence, while his uncle, Bashir Raheman, was given a £335 fine and six penalty points for allowing his nephew to drive the car while uninsured.

Now serious injury experts from law firm Irwin Mitchell are working to secure a rehabilitation package for Mrs Pratt, of Wakefield, who is still suffering from her injuries six months after the accident.

Mrs Pratt said: “I am extremely disappointed at the sentence given to the driver who caused my injuries, and feel that this is extremely lenient given the complete disregard for the law he showed.

“Not only was he driving carelessly but he was driving while uninsured.

“This isn’t meant to be a criticism of the magistrate who handed down the sentence.

“What I don’t understand is why he wasn’t charged with dangerous driving.”

Lawyers hope to win a payout so she can have specialist equipment which will help her with day to day life, such as a remote controlled adjustable bed and a chair to help her get in and out of the bath.

The Crown Prosecution Service said that dangerous driving charges would be used in cases of prolonged cases of very bad driving, or when there were factors such as alcohol or speed involved.

The spokesman said that careless driving could include a ban if the court chose to impose one.