Mum thanks rescuers

IPSWICH mum Louise Barker today today relived the moments when a group of strangers came to her rescue and pulled her from her car after it overturned on ice.

She was trapped by the seatbelt - and feared the vehicle could explode at any minute.

She said: "Those people have touched me in a way I never thought was possible. They have restored my faith in the human race."

Mrs Barker now wants to thank the group of people who stopped at the scene and stayed with her until the emergency services arrived.

The accident happened on Thursday on the Old Hadleigh Road, at Sproughton, near to the Beagle pub.

Ms Barker, 31, of Iris Close, said: "I had just dropped my nine-year-old daughter Niomi off at school in Bramford and was on my way home.

"As I went over a patch of black ice my car spun round and went onto the grass verge at the side. It flipped onto the roof and blocked the whole road."

Ms Barker said in the minutes that followed she went into complete shock with only her adrenaline taking over to try and help out.

She was hanging upside down by her seatbelt and could smell petrol. She knew she was in serious trouble.

She said: "The whole of my life flashed before me. My only thought was that my little girl needs me and I cannot let her down by dying in the car. I had to get out before it blew-up, there was simply no other option."

A man appeared at the front door but could not open either of them as the car had been crushed in the crash.

He managed to open the back door and Ms Barker released her seat belt and crawled to the back of the car to get out.

She said: "As soon as I got out and my feet were on the ground my adrenaline gave up and my legs just turned to jelly. Those that had gathered took over from that moment on."

Ms Barker remembers eight to ten people who helped her including van drivers, car drivers, pedestrians and even workers from the Express Holiday Inn hotel nearby.

Between these people they took Ms Barker to the grass verge, called the emergency services, and gave her tea and blankets.

The hotel staff took her to the lobby and allowed the emergency services to come in to treat her.

Ms Barker said: "Although I said thank you at the scene it some how doesn't feel enough.

"I want to tell them I appreciate what they have done and let everyone know how caring they were. Even the emergency services were great and helped me loads.

"At this time of year everyone is in a hurry and have their own priorities. We are more of an inconvenience than a person to them. But these people were lovely and I can never say thank you enough."

Ms Barker walked away from the crash with only a little whiplash and bruising. Her car has already been taken to the scrap yard.

Have you had a similar experience? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or send us an e-mail to eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk