A 30-year-old mother-of-four from Mtarfa this morning pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of a number of people when she allegedly drove her Mercedes up a crowded street in Gzira on Sunday afternoon.

Sharon Briffa also denied seriously injuring Roman Sultana and Kenneth Sultana (who are not related).

She was also accused of driving her car dangerously and at excessive speed.

The incident happened after an argument during the town feast.

Defence counsel Franco Debono told the court that his client had taken all precautions to safeguard herself and her property. He said her car had been surrounded by a crowd of some 30 men - as evident by the dents and broken glass. She had driven off out of fear.

In her statement to the police, the woman had said that her feet had beer on them and had slid off the car pedals.

Police Inspector Jesmond Micallef said that the car had been parked some distance from where the incident took place. She had driven out of the parking place, driven to the seafront and turned into the street where the incident took place, injuring two.

During the pleas for bail, defence counsel said the accused has four children, aged between six and 12 and needed to take care of them.

Magistrate Giovanni Griscti granted her bail against a personal guarantee of €4,000 and ordered her to report to the police station every day, and not to speak to witnesses.