Police FINE a mother for running out of petrol: Officers said woman was driving without due care and attention when she came to a stop on the M1

A MUM has been fined for driving without due care and attention after her car ran out of fuel on the busy M1.

The woman left her children "hysterical with fear" after two cars almost hit her black Volvo XC90 when it stopped between junction 28 and 29 northbound.

 Her car had ran out of petrol and stopped in an active lane as there was no hard shoulder at 5.30am on Wednesday.

She had just passed the Tibshelf service station in Derbyshire when she came to a stop.

The motorist, who has not been named, was fined and reported for driving without due care and attention.

Derbyshire Roads Police tweeted: "M1. 5.30am runs out of fuel with family in vehicle. Two near misses in the live lane & kids hysterical with fear. Unacceptable. #Ticket"

 The woman's black Volvo had just passed the Tibshelf service station on the M1 when it came to a stop

In response to the force's tweet, some social media users felt that the woman deserved the fine.

One person said: "How insanely stupid is the driver?? Totally unacceptable."

Another added: "How? I've never run out of fuel in all the 11 years I've been driving!"

Others defended the mother with one person saying: "Love that everyone has an opinion, but no-one has asked about the families [sic] situation.

"I remember putting £2 in tank just to get to work."
Some even questioned why the hard shoulders were removed on Smart Motorways, such as the M1.

One user said: "Bring hard shoulders back then, forced to stop in live traffic for any breakdown. unacceptable!"

A Derbyshire Police spokesman said: "Motorways are obviously high volume, high speed roads and the risks posed by coming to an avoidable stop are huge.

"Luckily there were no injuries but the potential for a serious collision was clear."