ignored a court order to pay a $200 fine.

The warrant was scrapped when Sen. Angelita Fox finally cleared the fine for driving without due care and attention yesterday -- one week late.

But it emerged last night that there are still $850 worth of outstanding fines against the Senator's name -- and she could face more arrest warrants.

But Sen. Fox, standing for the UBP in Hamilton East at the General Election, last night told The Royal Gazette she and her husband, Eddie, were in financial difficulty and had made arrangements to repay their debts, including those with Magistrates' Court.

But the Magistrates' Court records from her hearing on July 21 show Mr. King ordered her to pay the fine "forthwith''.

Senior Magistrate Will Francis signed a warrant for her arrest on Monday, when it emerged the $200 still had not been paid.

The warrant meant 34-year-old Sen. Fox could have been arrested at any time -- until it was withdrawn yesterday afternoon.

A Magistrates' Court spokesman confirmed: "The warrant has been returned by the Police because the fine was paid today.'' Computerised court files still show the Senator has $850 in unpaid fines relating to traffic offences 17 months ago.

Mother-of-three Sen. Fox initially insisted that the fines were against her husband.

But the court records show the outstanding fines are in Sen. Fox's name, quoting her address on Abbot's Cliff Close in Hamilton Parish.

They show that the Cable and Wireless executive was stopped in her car on Ferry Reach in St. George's back in March 1997.

She was fined $500 for no insurance, $200 for an unlicensed motor car and $150 for no driver's licence.

The fines should have been paid by November 30 -- but there is no court record that they have been paid.

Sen. Fox, when told about the court's computer records, first said: "Those other fines are not against me. Those fines were for my husband.

"Other than that, I'm not going to comment on all this.'' Yesterday, she said she was unaware her $200 fine had been paid.

"I haven't been to Hamilton today. My husband must have paid it. I wasn't aware that a warrant had been issued but I'm glad it's now been returned.'' Sen. Fox was hit with her latest fine after admitting driving without due care and attention.

She was charged following an incident on May 22 last year on Church Street in Hamilton.

Warrant dropped after Senator pays fine Sen. Fox, who was not a member of the upper house at the time, explained that her car rolled into a van as she was driving into work at Cable and Wireless.

She admitted that she pleaded guilty to driving without due care to avoid the publicity.

But she later called back yesterday to explain that both she and her husband had been stopped last year for traffic violations.

And she explained that the fines were outstanding because they were heavily in debt.

Her husband, until recently, had been without a job for four and a half years, she said.

He lost his as a project manager in the construction industry during the recession.

"I would like to say that as a young couple when my husband was not employed, I was the only breadwinner,'' Sen. Fox said.

During that time the couple -- who have a ten, eight, and six-year-old -- found themselves deeper in debt.

With the recent boom in the construction industry, Sen. Fox said her husband has been able to return to work and they were making every effort to pay off their outstanding debts.

Magistrates' Court and their creditors were well aware of this, she added.

"We have been working with them over a period of time,'' Sen. Fox said.

"Most people have been very understanding.'' Admitting that it was still a struggle for the family, she noted: "We don't expect anybody to pay off our debts or forgive our debts. But we're working on it.'' Due to her circumstances, Sen. Fox said she had empathy for others in similar situations and therefore she decided to enter politics.

"Basically that's one of the reasons that I wanted to help out other people like me,'' she said. "The word that rings home to me is opportunity. That's the thing that keeps me going.''