THE pregnant Bournemouth woman who was impaled on a wooden stake in a horrific car crash has spoken of her "miracle" escape.

Astrid Oates told how all she could think of was the safety of her unborn child as rescuers battled to cut her free from the wreckage.

It took a team of surgeons three hours to cut the wooden stake, which had just missed her heart and baby by inches, from her chest. The 20-year-old chef, who is due to give birth at the end of February, said: "I can't believe how lucky I am. That I and my baby boy are alive.

"Despite my horrible experience, doctors say I can probably go full term and have him naturally. Miracles do happen.

"I know now that my little boy is a real survivor. I am not too worried about him. If he can come through this he can come through anything.

"The first thing I thought about, even then, was my child and I remember asking the paramedics if the baby was OK. They were trying to reassure me. All I wanted to know was if he was alright."

The race to save the life of the woman began with a horrific car crash on the notorious A35 Charmouth Road at Axminster, Devon, on Saturday afternoon.

A 38-year-old Bournemouth man was driving a silver Saab 900, in which Astrid was a front-seat passenger.

The car, which was heading towards Bournemouth, veered off the road, slid down an embankment, crashing through a fence. The impact sent a splintered stake from the fence smashing through the windscreen and right through Astrid's body, the point coming out of her back.

The biggest fear for the medical team was that Astrid would go into labour, leaving them with the agonising choice of saving either her or the baby, but unable to do both.

Both Astrid and the driver were trapped for more than an hour. The driver switched on the car's hazard warning lights and these were spotted by a passer-by who alerted the emergency services.

Fire officers took an hour to saw through the stake and to free the woman from the wreckage. A police helicopter airlifted Astrid to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.

Astrid was being taken home by a male friend after helping out at a charity event for sick children. It is thought the driver swerved to avoid a fox.

Yesterday Astrid was transferred to the maternity unit, Havitree Hospital, just down the road from the Royal Devon and Exeter. Speaking from her hospital bed she said: "I don't remember much about it and did not feel the post going into me.

"I felt my body thrown forward in the seatbelt and the next thing a bigger piece came through the front window and just missed me. I lost consciousness when I was injured."

Astrid added: "After the operation to remove the stake doctors and nurses showed me the piece of wood they had taken out. It was covered in blood and I could not believe I had survived with that inside me."

The driver, who is also from Bournemouth but has a separate surname, suffered a shoulder injury. He was taken to hospital but allowed to go home after treatment.

The man passed a roadside breath test.