OAP's miracle escape as window falls on her

Jo Hatcher, 73, was struck by the window which came tumbling 15 feet from a first floor flat on Queens Road last Friday morning.

Despite being knocked down and the glass smashing she was not cut at all.

She was back at home later that day after being discharged by doctors at the Conquest Hospital who found nothing worse than bruising.

But Jo, of Railway Cottages off Bexhill Road, is experiencing waves of pain shooting through her body.

She said: "I was crumpled by the railings and thought I was dead. I must have a guardian angel because I didn't have a single scratch on me."

The glass and frame of the single-glazed window, which measures one metre by 40 centimetres, fell from the flat above Victoria Wine off licence.

Jo said she first became concerned when she heard a rattling noise above her while walking towards Priory Meadow shopping centre.

She added: "The man walking beside me looked up and said, 'Good God', and I looked back and saw this window coming towards me. It was really scary.

"I tried to get out of the way but I was near the railings and couldn't move. It hit me on the back of the neck and I fell forward, then it hit me in the back and all the glass shattered.

"My arms and legs went numb and I thought I was dead or I would be paraplegic. I am so lucky."

Marc Smith, manager of Victoria Wine, said he heard a bang and a scream and came out of his shop to see what was wrong.

He said: "I saw a woman lying there holding her head. Everyone gathered round in silence. Someone called 999 and the ambulance was there in seconds."

Paramedic Joanne Gevaux was part of the first team to arrive from Bohemia ambulance station at 11.34am.

She called firefighters to the scene to move railings so the victim could be moved safely.

She said: "If the window frame had hit her on the head it could have killed her. Because there was a high risk of a serious spinal injury we had to put her in a neck brace and on to a spine board before taking her to hospital at 12.30pm."

Lian Boswell, 38, lives in the flat with her three children. She was horrified to discover her window had hit the pensioner when she arrived home shortly after the incident.

Miss Boswell said: "It was an old window frame but you never expect these things to happen, do you?

"My main concern was for the person it landed on. I was in a terrible state but I was relieved when I found out she had been discharged from hospital."

The flat is owned by First Quench, the company which also owns Victoria Wine and Thresher. The victim said this week she is considering claiming for damages against the company.

Jo has not been out of her house since the incident and is unable to perform household chores because of the stabbing pains.

She said: "It could have been worse but I don't know if my back is going to be right again and I don't know what repercussions there will be in the future."

First Quench had no-one available to comment this week.

It was unclear whether the council or the health and safety executive were responsible for investigating the incident.