As Janet Prictoe, Bell finished third in the 800 metres at the 1977 AAAs Championships. In 1978, she was second in the 800 metres at the UK Championships in 2:04.78, and second at the AAAs Championships in 2:03.11, just one-one hundredth of a second behind the winner Christina Boxer. She went on to compete at the 1978 European Championships, where she was eliminated in the heats. She also finished second at the 1979 AAAs Championships behind Christine Benning.