A Bedlington carer has spoken of her fury after being left for nearly a year without her driving licence.
Annie Coltman-Thomas 56, said she is furious with the DVLA, who she claims told her she has to be patient since last March.
Annie said her saga started in September 2020, when she blacked out while driving on the A19.
Go here for more Northumberland news and updates from Northumberland Live
Annie said neither herself nor anyone else was hurt in the incident, when her car drifted over to the central reservation.
She said she was advised to stop driving for six months while the cause of the blackout was investigated.
"I have had no blackouts since and I had not had one before, said Annie, who lives with her 25-year-old twin daughters, who are also carers.
"I had just lost my fiancé earlier that year, and I think everything was just getting on top of me and it was down to stress."
When the six months were up, in March 2021, Annie said her GP and neurologist were happy for her to get her licence back, so Annie said she applied to the Government's licencing agency for her driving licence to be re-issued.
"I have waited and waited," said Annie, who works at The Willows Care Home, in Bedlington.
"I sent everything off together with a letter from my neurologist at the RVI confirming I was cleared to drive, and I am still waiting.
"Since my original application, I have changed my name by deed poll to reflect my late fiancé's name, so I had to resend everything again.
"Because I have no licence, I have had to declare the car off the road on a SORN declaration, and have to keep the car at my late finance's house in Killingworth because I don't have off-road parking at home and SORN cars can not be kept on a public highway.
"I can't get car insurance because I don't have a licence which proves I am fit to drive.
"I need to sort my house out, but it is difficult with no car, especially as In work shifts and am having to walk to work.
"I am relying on my daughters for lifts when I need them, which I don't like doing as they are both busy carers in the community and don't have much spare time.
"I am getting fed up of finishing a night shift on Sunday morning and having to walk home when I have a car that I can use, which would make life so much easier.
"I am really sick of waiting now, I just want to get in sorted and find out how on earth it takes this long? I am endlessly being told by DVLA that my application is being processed but they can't tell me how long it will take, and I was told that I couldn't drive until I got my licence back.
"I think I have waited long enough."
A DVLA spokesperson said: “When considering an application to issue a driving licence we aim to make a decision as quickly as possible. However more complex transactions, for example if medical investigations are needed, will take longer. We’re sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
“Although we can't comment on individual cases, once a driver has submitted their application they may be able to continue to drive while we are processing it, provided they have not been told by their doctor or optician they should not drive.”
The spokesperson said ongoing COVID safety measures and industrial action added around 400,000 applications to those already waiting to be processed and increased the wait time by around two months.
They said the DVLA has recruited more staff, increased overtime and opened new customer service centres in Swansea and Birmingham to help reduce waiting times for customers and is issuing around 200,000 driving licences each week.
