A mother scalped in a horror crash which left her son thinking she was dead says she feels cheated after the driver at fault walked away with just nine points on his licence.

Tamara Avery and her son and daughter were seriously injured when Scott Ralph's Citroen ploughed into the back of their car at 60mph, shunting it into a tipper truck on the A299 Thanet Way at St Nicholas-At-Wade.

Canterbury Crown Court heard the defendant had been talking to his business partner via Bluetooth when he crashed into the Daihatsu, which had slowed to 10mph due to another accident, with the judge suggesting he could have been distracted.

He denied causing serious injury by dangerous driving and was cleared by a jury, but admitted the lesser charge of careless driving - which carries a maximum sentence of a fine and penalty points.

Judge Rupert Lowe spared the 34-year-old a fine as a growth on his shoulder has left him unable to work, leaving him with just nine points added to his licence.

He explained to Ms Avery, of St Andrews Close, Whitstable, there is no charge of causing serious injury by careless driving on the statute and his powers of punishment were therefore limited.

She says she has been left "gutted" by the outcome and is demanding a change in law to address this, something the Ministry of Justice announced last year it intends to do.

“I sat there for three days in court and he walked away with barely a slap on the wrist - it was all pointless,” she said.

"I feel cheated. I’m disappointed in the system. Something needs to change. I feel like he’s just got away with it.

“I know the judge said his hands were tied, but why not disqualify him?

"Why just nine points after seeing what damage he had done?

“I feel sorry for him, I do, but he just walked out of court that day with nothing.

“Yes he cried in the box, said he was sorry, but our lives have changed completely.”

Ms Avery had been travelling on the A299 in good weather on April 1 last year when the traffic slowed ahead.

She says the last thing she remembers is saying “I think there’s been an accident” before her car was hit by Ralph, who had switched lanes just before the collision.

The 49-year-old was airlifted to King’s Hospital in London with serious scalp and spinal injuries and put in an induced coma.

She was in hospital for two weeks and after being discharged to her parents’ home in Canterbury Road, Herne Bay, was then rushed to the QEQM in Margate with a perforated bowel, caused by the crash, and had part of her intestine removed.

"The culpability or fault of the driver may sometimes be completely out of all proportion to the devastating harm which is caused - this is one of those cases" - Judge Rupert Lowe

Her daughter, Lauren, 26, was airlifted to St George’s Hospital in London with spinal injuries and her son, Kieron, 18, was treated at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford for a broken shoulder.

All three of them had to be cut from the car.

A fourth passenger, Tyler Townsend, escaped serious injuries but received a bruised chest and nose.

Ms Avery said: “My son was in the back and thought I was dead. I wouldn’t wish that feeling on anyone. Imagine how my son felt thinking I was dead.”

She says they are all now having to live with the lasting effects of the ordeal.

“I have a large amount of memory loss.

"My memory will never be fixed and I have problems with my speech.

"I want to go back to the job I love as a care worker, but I can't.

“I have problems being in a car. I have moments of panic. I’d love to drive again but I can’t at the moment.

“My son’s shoulder is fixed but he has a problem with cars.

"He doesn’t like talking about the accident either. What we went through was horrific.

"We’ve been through such an ordeal and yet no punishment has been given.

“He [Ralph] says he misjudged the road, he is sorry, but that doesn’t make me feel better.

"How come everyone else was able to stop?

“He walked into court that day and walked out with nothing. I walked out feeling deflated.

“They need to bring in causing serious injury by careless driving and they need to sort out suitable punishments.”

Last year, the Ministry of Justice announced its intention to bring in a new offence of causing serious injury by careless driving with new penalties, possibly custodial.

During proceedings at Canterbury Crown Court, Judge Lowe said his powers of punishment were limited and could never reflect the harm which was caused.

“The culpability or fault of the driver may sometimes be completely out of all proportion to the devastating harm which is caused - this is one of those cases,” he said.

“There are many millions of vehicles on the road of England and Wales, and sadly every day there are collisions, always frightening and sometimes catastrophic, where people are killed and seriously injured.”

He said drivers should reflect on how easily serious accidents can happen “and when they do, the lives of the victims can be quite devastating”.

“In this case the life of Tamara Avery has been devastated,” he said.

“She was in hospital for three weeks, suffering pain, confusion and fear which have changed her life so much it will never be the same again.

“The same is true of the others involved in the accident.

"Nothing that can happen in this court could ever right the wrong that was done to her and her family that day.”

Ralph, who admitted he was "entirely at fault" for the collision, told the court: "I feel guilty. I have dreams about it nearly every night. I’m so sorry.”

He wept as the judge told him: “In this case there was nothing at fault with [Ms Avery’s] driving and you have always accepted that they are innocent victims.”

The judge said his driving "up to the point of the collision" had been "faultless" but he believed Ralph, of Arcon Road, Ashford, may have been distracted while on the phone talking to his business partner.