A teenager who lost control of her car while reaching for a bottle of water left a care home worker with life-changing injuries.

New driver Hana Davis, 18, left a care home worker with multiple injuries and psychological trauma following the accident on the A259 Rye Road in Brookland on the Romney Marsh.

The teenager, who had only passed her test three months before, began to "snake" across both carriageways and crashed into Julie Jackson's Mazda 2, forcing both cars through a fence.

Folkestone Magistrates' Court heard on Wednesday it took 90 minutes for fire crews to cut the pair free before they were rushed to hospital.

Prosecutor Julie Fairbrace said Ms Jackson suffered fractures to the spine, wrist and ankle, three broken ribs and psychological trauma.

"The victim says after the accident she had to move in with her daughter and her partner," she said.

"She says she was unable to go up stairs, forcing her to live in her daughter's dining room.

"She says since the accident she is still unsure if she will be confident enough to drive."

The court heard Ms Jackson was driving home from work when she saw Davis' car heading towards her and "didn't have time to get out of the way".

Ms Fairbrace added: "The victim says she is unable to work and is £1,500 a month worse off.

"She says she has disrupted sleep and cannot watch TV programmes with crashes in them; they make her jumpy, she has to change the channel."

Ms Jackson, who was in Ashford's William Harvey Hospital for 10 days and temporarily wheelchair-bound, now walks with a "pronounced limp," Ms Fairbrace said.

Davis, of The Street in Great Chart, could be seen crying in the dock as the evidence was read out.

The court heard Davis was driving her Ford Fiesta to a new job at a furniture shop in Rye when the accident happened at 11am on January 14.

'No one in the court room finds this harder to listen to than Hana Davis...' - Keith Betts, defending

Keith Betts, defending, said Davis, who suffered cuts and bruises, was "deeply remorseful" and could not recall the incident, perhaps due to her injuries.

He added her confidence was knocked and would only drive short journeys, accompanied with an adult, largely her family.

He also said the accident, which happened on a clear day, may have been prevented if Davis had more experience behind the wheel.

There was no evidence Davis was speeding at the time of the crash.

Mr Betts said: "No one in the court room finds this harder to listen to than Hana Davis."

He said Ms Davis, who is awaiting her A-Level results and has been offered a place at Edinburgh University, has a "bright life" ahead of her.

Davis pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention and was handed a one-year driving ban.

She was fined £126, ordered to pay £85 costs and a £30 victim surcharge, which she agreed to clear in 14 days.