A woman has thanked the trainee nurse and emergency services who helped her after her car crashed off the road at Bethersden.

Ami Coleman, 20, of Bentley Road, Willesborough, was lucky to escape serious injury after her red Mazda 2 skidded on mud and span off the A28 into a ditch.

The accident happened by the turning to Woodchurch at 7.50am last Friday as Miss Coleman, who works as a nursery nurse in Tenterden, drove to work.

The former Highworth Grammar School pupil said: “I was driving on the A28 and I think I skidded on a bit of mud which caused my car to spin and I ended up in a ditch.

“My life flashed before my eyes and I just thought of all my friends and family. The windscreen and my window both smashed, which cut my arm.

“I started screaming for help and a man in a van and another driver stopped to help me.

“The trainee nurse came up and she stayed with me the whole time. She was talking to me and holding my neck and made me feel at ease.”

“She was just amazing. She was with me from five minutes after I crashed and even said goodbye and good luck when I got put in the ambulance.”

As the doors to the car would not open, fire crews from Ashford and Tenterden were called and used hydraulic cutters to free her from the vehicle and a spinal board to carry her out as they were worried about her spine.

“My life flashed before my eyes and I just thought of all my friends and family" - Ami Coleman

“It was scary more than anything but the firefighters were amazing,” said Miss Coleman.

“They made me so at ease. The doors wouldn’t open and because I was complaining of back ache they didn’t want to move me.

“I was taken to William Harvey Hospital where I had scans but everything came back clear. The doctors said I was a very lucky girl.”

Although the car, which was only six months old is thought to be a write-off, Miss Coleman escaped with just a cut on her arm and bad bruising to her back and neck.

Despite being in quite a lot of pain, she is hoping to be able to return to work next week.

She wants to thank the trainee nurse called Sarah who stopped to help. Miss Coleman thinks she was working in a placement at a care home near Tenterden.

Her partner Lee Harris, 24, said: “We wanted to say thank you to the trainee nurse for being there for her.

“Ami’s so grateful she wanted to send her a card and some flowers. She’s just happy that she’s alive.”

The couple also wanted to thank the two men who stopped to call the emergency services, as well as the firefighters and paramedics themselves.