For a while I have found a quick and easy solution for creating blank lines in my Category box so I can group some of my categories. All I do is create a dummy category where I want a blank line.

But this is causing me validation problems as the source code comes out as ....

<a class="category-top" href="http://www.tidytoys.co.uk/shop/-c-299"></a><br />
<a class="category-top" href="http://www.tidytoys.co.uk/shop/-c-300"></a><br />

Is there a way I can insert a blank line wherever I want without causing validation errors behind the scenes that highlight coding that google doesnt like.

I did try playing with one of the category box add-ons a while ago, but it all seemed massively complicated and I still couldnt figure out how to add something as simple as a blank line.