A pregnant driver who crashed into an elderly cyclist blamed the accident on her unborn baby kicking her.
A court heard that mum-to-be Rebecca Knowles-Dixon, 28, lost control of her car and ploughed into the path of the pensioner on a country road.
The 74-year-old was thrown 'some distance' from his bike and suffered serious chest and head injuries.
But when Knowles-Dixon appeared in court she blamed the crash on her unborn child. She claimed a series of 'painful' kicks in her ribs by the baby caused her to flinch behind the wheel and swerve in front of the pensioner.
Knowles-Dixon, of Waterleat, Devon, admitted driving without due care and attention at Torquay Magistrates Court.
She told the court: "I was heavily pregnant at the time when the baby kicked me in the ribs several times and very hard.
"This made me flinch and caused me to have a momentary lapse in concentration.
"I could not have predicted what happened. It's never happened to me before. It's really quite painful."
Knowles-Dixon's Peugeot ploughed into a hedge and veered into the path of the cyclist, the court heard.
The pensioner was thrown from his bike and suffered chest and head injuries in the September 6 smash.
He was airlifted to hospital but survived the incident in a 'windy, narrow country road' just outside Ashburton, Devon.
Prosecutor Chris Bittlestone said speed was not a factor in the crash because Knowles-Dixon was only doing 20mph.
She said she relied on her car to do festival work and losing it would cause her 'exceptional hardship'.
She also insisted that she always tried to drive as safely as possible. Magistrates fined her £150 and put three points on her driving licence.