Thanks for the really useful information especially TD and lamma. I've taken notes of everything you've said and will try and make good use of them. I have to admit that I'm very nervous about appearing in person. I'm not that good at speaking in front of a group of people (especially since I've learnt that the court is open to members of the public). I've always considered myself as a considerate driver and can't believe I am now a criminal by missing those lights by a second. I'm now beginning to think I should have just paid the fine and got the points but at the time I honestly thought it worked in a similar way to how parking tickets are dealt with. That is, you give mitigating reasons why the offence took place and (if reasonable) the ticket is cancelled. Now it seems that is not the case in this instance and I'm not going to be in any better position by appealing this. Once you go in guilty, the magistrate can't overturn the offence (I believe). Does anyone know what the 'best' outcome I could hope for? My income is very low (less than £100 a week).

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I phoned the court today and was told that it makes no difference whether I attend in person or not, the costs will be the same. Having read MightyMouse's reply it made me realise that it's not easy putting feelings into words. It wasn't the "oi darlin" that made me feel threatened - heck, at my age I'll take as many as I can get - but the physical presence. Don't forget, all this happened within a few seconds with no time to think properly, and my very first instinct was to just keep driving. So I've decided to attend in person, plead guilty and hope for a sympathetic hearing. Date is 6 October. Thanks again. You've all been very helpful.

Thanks pin1. So can I plead guilty and use this "reasonably held belief" on my plea form for the Magistrate or do I have to plead not guilty and let it go to trial?

Thanks to everyone for your input. Very useful. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but it's weird how the brain reacts when faced with a sudden unexpected incident. One minute I'm sitting quietly in the car about to stop at the traffic lights and the next minute I hear loud voices 'Oi darlin' and three youths coming towards me. When it's 3 in the morning and no one else is about it suddenly feels very scary. I'm going to go in with a guilty plea. I had always intended to do that anyway. I just wanted the chance to put my reasons over. Still can't decide whether to appear in person or not. I can fill the plea form in with reasons and send it by post. It will get read out by someone in the court. OR Attend in person. It says on the form that attending in person allows you to tell the court things, in your own words, which might be difficult to explain in writing. Just worried about what Graham said above about risking higher costs by appearing in person.

Can anyone let me know if the courts prefer it if you plead by post rather than go in person?

I have it on record from the report the police did that I missed the light by 1 second. The photograph also clearly shows 2 of the lads

It was 3 0'clock in the morning. The roads and streets were deserted. As I approached the lights they changed to amber and I started to slow down. Just at that moment, from around the corner (exactly where the lights were) 3 drunken youths appeared, saw me and started jeering and coming towards the car. I was alone in the car, female and felt scared. I made a split second decision and decided not to stop. I only missed the lights by one second. As it was 3 in the morning I just felt very vulnurable as there were no other vehicles/people about and it was literally a split second decision that I made to go on. What do you think? This is my first offence in over 30 years of driving.

I got snapped going through red lights. According to the paperwork I only missed them by 1 second. I filled in the initial paperwork to verify that I was the driver and ticked the box that I wanted the matter dealt with in the Magistrates Court as I felt that I had mitigating circumstances. I have now received the papers from the court giving me 3 options. 1: Plead guilty by post with mitigating circumstances. 2: Plead guilty at court 3: Plead not guilty and the case will be sent to trial. I was obviously guilty as there is photographic evidence. However, I do feel that I have good mitigating circumstances. Do Magistate courts ever cancel out the offence if there are good reasons? Do you think it's best to send by post or attend in person?