A woman banned from driving by magistrates told a judge that her business would collapse if she was off the road for six months.

Dziugita Lukse described how she ran a furniture company in Droitwich Road, Worcester, with her husband.

Small items sold on the eBay internet website were sent by courier but she delivered larger goods like beds and wardrobes by van, often travelling 500 miles on a round trip.

Lukse, a mother-of-two, said her husband had not passed his driving test and they could not afford to take on staff to tide them over the ban period.

She claimed the disqualification would mean "exceptional hardship" for her family and Judge John Cavell allowed her appeal at Worcester Crown Court.

He quashed the ban, imposed under the totting-up procedure, but a fine of £225 for driving without insurance or an MOT stands.

Lukse, aged 30, of Drake Avenue, Dines Green, Worcester, was stopped by police as she drove an uninsured car to a scrapyard on July 20 at the request of her husband.

Worcester magistrates imposed the six-month ban and put six penalty points on her licence. She already had points for three other driving offences.

Lukse, a Lithuanian, came to England in 2003 after a background in agriculture.

She set up the business in October last year. It brings in a weekly wage of £260.

Asked by her lawyer Gary Harper what would happen if the ban stayed, she said: "Everything would stop. My life would stop."

She said it would be hard to get another in the present economic climate.

Charles Hamer, for the prosecution, suggested that friends or relatives might help with the deliveries.

But the court heard her brother - whom she drove to shift work in Droitwich - was an learner driver and one friend, who helped out occasionally, also had a full-time job.

Mr Harper said Lukse was a hard worker but her business was not big enough to survive if she was off the road.

The judge warned Lukse not to get any more points on her licence if she wanted to avoid a ban in the future.

She would not be able to use the same "hardship defence" again, he added.