Seconds from almost certain death, this is the moment a car driver puts her life on the line and ignores a barrier to try and cross before the train arrives.

Fortunately the train driver was able to slow down as he came towards the level crossing in Salhouse Road, Rackheath, near Norwich.

And his quick-thinking gave the car driver, Susan Anderson time to reverse her Ford Fiesta off the level crossing and away from danger.

The 55-year-old was fined £400 by Norwich magistrates yesterday, but escaped a driving ban.

But afterwards, British Transport Police released this image taken from the cab of the train as it warned of the potential dangers of motorists risking their lives by ignoring level crossing barriers.

A BTP spokesman said: 'Incredibly some people are still putting their lives on the line by ignoring warning lights and sirens and trying to dash through crossings when trains are approaching.

'This is completely irresponsible and dangerous and we will not hesitate to take action against anyone caught doing so.

'Working closely with Network Rail, we hope to educate people of the potential dangers of crossing misuse to reduce such incidents.'

Magistrates heard yesterday that Anderson, from Proctor Road, Norwich, drove her car onto the crossing while the barriers were going down at about 8.30am on December 6 last year.

Her car got stuck on the crossing inside the half-barriers once the arms were down.

Luckily, the train driver was able to slow down and avoid a collision.

In the meantime, Anderson had started to reverse her car between the half-barriers and off the crossing, and the train driver was able to help her continue that manoeuvre.

Anderson, who had pleaded guilty to careless driving at an earlier hearing, appeared for sentencing yesterday.

Jeremy Guy, for Anderson, said the defendant had no real excuse for her careless driving, but he added: 'She works for Norfolk County Council and it was a stressful time for her, as she had to reapply for her own job. She has kept her job and, in fact, has been promoted.

'She's clearly normally a good driver, and has a clean driving licence, after 27 years.'

He said that she was based in Norwich and needed to drive for work. He added: 'Because of cutbacks, if she were banned from driving, it would impact on her colleagues. She also has to drive to Thetford once a week to babysit for her daughter.'

Chairman of the bench, Paul Allen told her: 'Potentially this could have been a very serious matter.

'But we are not going to disqualify you from driving. It must have been a frightening experience to find yourself the wrong side of the barrier with a train coming.'

She was fined £400 plus a £40 victim surcharge and ordered to pay £85 costs. Her licence was also endorsed with eight points.

The BTP spokesman added that a purpose-built marked police van, fitted with nine cameras, that operated in Norfolk, had access to all the systems required to process prosecutions instantly, including automatic number plate recognition technology.

Advice on using half and full barriers level crossings safely is available from Network Rail at www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/10722.aspx