THE TENSION mounts as both drivers edge forward, eager to secure the last remaining parking space in a busy Hampshire market town.

But as our pictures show, what happened next has given Britain's traffic cops a whole new sound bite - parking rage.

When Melanie Andrews realised she had failed in her attempt to nose-butt her rival from the space she believed was rightly hers, she opted for fresh tactics - and rammed Julie Brown's car straight out of the space into the middle of the road.

Then, cool as a cucumber, she wandered over to the ticket machine and duly bought a 20p ticket for the space.

The farcical scene happened when the two women went for the same parking spot at Andover High Street.

Pulling in from opposite ends, the pair were locked in a war of attrition, each trying to wear the other down and slowly nudge the other out - but instead of winning the battle, Miss Andrews, 20, succeeded only in landing herself in court.

The whole bizarre event was captured on closed-circuit TV, which was yesterday played to smiling jurors at Winchester Crown Court.

Prosecutor Liz Gunther said: "Parking rage is the easy way this case could be summed up.

"Andrews had decided the car parking space was hers and decided to have it - and she did. But Mrs Brown had already moved into the space.

"A careful and competent driver would not in a million years push another person's car into the carriageway like that."

Mrs Brown, 43, told the court: "I waited for a car to move out of a space and had indicated to move in once it had left.

"Once it moved out I moved in and I was more or less in to the space when another car came down from the other side as if it was coming into the space.

"The driver then started shouting out of her window: 'If you don't move your car, I'll move it for you'.

"She then proceeded to do just that. She drove her car up to mine and tried to move it but couldn't - but there was smoke and dreadful revving noises.

"The woman then reversed so her car was straight ahead of mine. I thought 'that's it' and got out, putting the handbrake on.

"She then pushed my car out the way completely. My 12-year-old son was standing behind my car trying to stop it but I got him out of the way.''

When she was arrested by police, Miss Andrews did not bat an eyelid as she admitted ramming her rival's Toyota car out of the way.

Andrews, of Penton Mewsey near Andover, did not give evidence. She admitted driving carelessly, but was found guilty of dangerous driving and will be sentenced next month.