Paramedic John Radburn today told of the dramatic rescue of a woman who was impaled on a metal spike after being hurled into the air by a car, write Andrew French and Phil Clee.

Mr Radburn, of Oxfordshire Ambulance Service, helped to calm the 37-year-old woman and supported her weight after her right leg was speared by the 4ft-high metal fence.

The rescue lasted almost an hour. The woman had been chatting with friends in Witney High Street when she was hit by a white F-reg Peugeot 405.

She landed on the fence outside the disused Tamarind Bay Indian restaurant and one of the spikes pierced the top of her thigh, narrowly missing an artery.

Mr Radburn said: "The woman was plastered with blood and was clearly in agony. But she was conscious throughout and we did our best to reassure her by talking to her and telling her what we were doing next. She is lucky to be alive. The alarm was raised and within minutes of the incident at 10pm on Saturday paramedics were at the scene, together with fire crews and police, to carry out the delicate rescue operation.

Last night the woman was in a stable condition at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

A 34-year-old man was questioned by police and later released on bail.

Mr Radburn, 50, who has worked for Oxfordshire Ambulance Service for 27 years, added: "The first thing we did was to give her a strong painkiller.

"Because of the location of the cast-iron railings, it was very difficult to get into a suitable position to give treatment.

"The woman was conscious throughout and although she was very subdued she managed to talk to us for the 45 minutes it took to get her down."

Part-time nurse Faye Bishop heard the screech of car tyres from her second-floor flat above the restaurant. Miss Bishop said: "I looked out of the window and called out to ask her if she wanted the police.

"She was sitting on the railings and there was a man next to her holding her up. She was conscious, but obviously in shock.

"The police were there within three or four minutes, and the ambulance came soon after.

"I tried to help, but with the position she was in, I couldn't do a lot.

"I just monitored her pulse and talked to her until the emergency services arrived."

Miss Bishop, who saw the drama unfold with her two children, Kayleigh, 11, and Joshua, ten, added: "It was horrendous.

"The car was through the gateway and ended up only about three inches from where she was.

"The paramedics who arrived were holding the woman up for at least half an hour.

"She's a very lucky lady. It's a miracle she wasn't killed."

Eddie Murphy, Assistant Divisional Officer at Oxfordshire Fire Service, added: "Paramedics managed to stabilise her as firefighters used cutting equipment to try to free her from the spikes.

"Eventually we had to resort to hacksaws and while paramedics and my colleagues physically supported her weight, we cut the spike which had impaled her right thigh.

"The whole operation lasted about an hour and as we carried her to the ambulance the spike fell out of the hole in her leg."

He added that the rescue demonstrated superb teamwork between the emergency services.

Thames Valley Police are appealing for witnesses.