A grandmother who crashed through a fence into a nursery playground, pinning a toddler against a brick wall, has walked free from court with a two-year driving ban.

Jayne James, 63, was dropping her grandchild off at the nursery in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, when the crash happened on the morning of June 16.

Two other youngsters suffered minor injuries after being hit by flying bits of wood when the fence was destroyed.

James pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and was given a four-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and banned from getting behind the wheel for two years.

A staff member out on the playground quickly pulled the trapped child free and called 999.

All three injured children were taken to hospital, but they were lucky to escape with relatively minor injuries.

The child pinned by James’s car suffered a ‘considerable’ friction burn to their chest caused by the still spinning wheel, police said.

James was arrested at the scene and taken into custody.

In interview, she told officers she had been driving the vehicle at the time of the collision but could not remember any specific details as to how it occurred.

She claimed there was a feature on the Omoda, an automatic vehicle, that meant it would begin to accelerate if a certain pedal was pressed whilst it was stationary.

Following an examination of the vehicle by officers, it was determined to have no mechanical faults that could have caused or contributed toward the collision.

Detective Sergeant Amy Hollis, of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: ‘The lives of over 20 young children were put at serious risk as a result of James’ inability to control her vehicle.

‘Three of them were injured, one of them was trapped between the vehicle and a brick wall, all of them were left scared.

‘Despite the distressing nature of the incident, I would like to give the members of staff who helped get the children to safety, as well as the attending Cheshire Police and emergency service colleagues who managed the scene my profound thanks for their efforts.

‘The outcome could have been very different.

‘I am very glad to hear that all the children injured in the collision both directly and indirectly have been discharged from hospital and have since made a full physical recovery.

‘That being said, they and their families continue to be supported by our partner agencies as a result of the emotional and psychological impact of the collision which is likely to have a lasting result.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, .

MORE: Man stabbed in the neck at five-star hotel in Barcelona

MORE: Man who spent decades on death row bailed as DNA casts doubt on murder case

MORE: Death Row prisoner Christa Pike says she feels ‘kinship’ with Lindsay Clancy