A witness has described how a woman who impaled herself on a metal fence spike screamed "I'm going to die" as she tried to free her arm.

The 30-year-old woman, believed to be named Eve, was left in a hysterical state after she tripped on cobbles in Rochester High Street on a night out on Sunday.

She had to be rescued by firefighters after a 4-inch metal spike went through her upper arm when she fell in an archway near the cathedral at about 9.15pm.

Riccardo Ragazzo, 39, a chef in the nearby Italian restaurant Don Vincenzo, witnessed the incident.

He said: "I was going home after my work in the high street in Rochester, when I saw a woman slip.

"First I thought she was just in pain from the fall, but then I realised her right arm was impaled on a spike.

“She was slipping in and out of consciousness..." - Riccardo Ragazzo

"She started screaming 'I'm going to die' and was slipping in and out of consciousness because of the pain.

"She was fighting to free her arm, but I held her to stop her moving because I knew if she did it could hit a vein and she could lose a lot of blood."

Others rushed from nearby pubs to stop the woman from moving while they waited for the emergency services to arrive.

Mr Ragazzo added: "She was wearing big heels, but she wasn't drunk.

"Her friend Lynn was trying to comfort her, but she was also in shock. She was terrified too."

The woman was taken to hospital by South East Coast Ambulance Service with the length of metal still in her arm.

Fire crews, and officers from Kent Police, were at the scene until around 9.50pm.

• Do you know the woman who was hurt? Contact the newsroom on 01634 227835.