THE mother of a 12-year-old girl hit by a car in Wood Lane, Chippenham, last week said her daughter is lucky to be alive.

Abbeyfield student Jessica Brimble was with three friends when she was hit by the car, shattering the windscreen with her head and flying four feet up into the air.

The Year 8 student lay on the road for 50 minutes before an ambulance from Bath arrived, as Chippenham crews were on another emergency.

Mother Rachel Brimble, of Tavinor Drive, Pewsham, said the accident was not in any way the fault of the driver, but she was concerned that a child would eventually be killed on the road.

“The police and the paramedics said it was a miracle that she hadn’t been killed,” said Mrs Brimble.

“Her head smashed the windscreen of the car. It completely shattered. There was a hole in it where her head had gone through. She was thrown four feet into the air before landing on the road, but she doesn’t have any broken bones. She is a very lucky girl.

“The force knocked her out at first, and she was as limp as a rag doll, so it was very frightening for everyone involved.

“It’s every mother’s worst nightmare. You never, ever want to get that call.”

Despite the length of time it took ambulance crews to arrive, Mrs Brimble said she was grateful for the “exemplary” way the crew took care of her daughter.

“We were obviously frantic as we couldn’t move her,” she said.

“She was lying in the road, face down.

“When we arrived she was warm, but when she was loaded into the ambulance she was ice cold. I hadn’t realised that her T-shirt had come up and so she was frozen and had gravel all over her.

“Fortunately we were at home when it happened, so one of her friends called the police and one called me, and we were there within ten minutes.

“As I got out of the car and went running up the road, I could hear her calling for me, so it was a massive relief.

“The first thing she said was that she had gone out in front of the car on her scooter, and she said ‘I’m so sorry’.”

Jessica had to be carefully warmed up by paramedics before being taken to hospital and checked over for injuries.

“The driver of the car was distraught, but it wasn’t their fault at all,” Mrs Brimble said.

“I’m just thankful she is OK. When we arrived, there was a gentleman who had seen her go up in the air when he was with his two-year-old in a pushchair, and he held her head until her dad and I arrived.

“We’re so grateful to him, and to the police and paramedics who made sure she was all right.

“The trouble is that kids will be kids, and you can’t be there with them all the time.”

“The road is dangerous, and something needs to be done.”