Heroine Andrea Thompson told today how she saved the life of a baby boy who had stopped breathing after a collision with a stolen car.

The eight-month-old tot suffered a fractured skull when he was catapulted from the arms of his mum and hit the windscreen and dashboard of the car.

But bank worker Andrea, 43, recalled her nursing training to clear the baby's airwaves and get him breathing again.

The child is now in a stable condition in hospital. His life is not in danger.

Grandmother Andrea, who spent four years working for a nursing degree but never went into the job, dashed from her home in Brunswick Road, Pudsey, after hearing the collision on Friday night.

"The baby's grandmother was holding the baby and walking back to the car with him," she said.

"I walked over and said 'give me the baby.' His right eye was nearly closed, he had two large cuts on his head and forehead and he had cuts to his arms from flying glass. I realised he wasn't breathing, so I turned him over face down across my arm and cracked him really hard on his back a couple of times.

"It made him cough all the blood out, which otherwise would have choked him, and he let out an almighty scream. It was a wonderful moment."

The youngster was taken to Leeds General Infirmary.

Andrea, who has three children and a 22-month-old granddaughter, said: "I have since found out he has got a fractured skull and he has had 24 stitches in the cuts to his face."

The little boy was sitting on his mother's knee in the back seat of their Kia Pride car when the stolen Rover 25 collided with the nearside of the car where they were sitting.

"The poor kid literally flew through the air and hit the windscreen and dashboard," said Andrea. "We wrapped a towel round his head and it was soaked in blood. He's a lucky little man.

"I didn't think. I just acted on instinct. I remembered my nursing training. It was the sort of thing I was trained for. You just do it.

"I am not a hero and I don't want any glory. I just did what anyone else with common sense would have done.

"I was in the right place at the right time and I'm just glad I was. It's enough for me that he is still here."

In a bizarre twist, Andrea realised that the baby's grandmother was someone she had been to junior school with more than 30 years ago.

But she condemned the group of young people in the stolen car.

"The baby could have died, but they have no respect for life," she said. "It's a very precious thing, but they just don't care."

A Police spokesman said: "This woman saved the baby's life. He had stopped breathing and she resuscitated him."

The baby's mother suffered superficial cuts and bruises in the accident.

One of the passengers in the Rover received a suspected broken arm.

Three men have been arrested in connection with taking a vehicle without consent and were being interviewed at Pudsey police station.

Police are still seeking the driver and a fourth passenger who ran off after the collision. Anyone with information is asked to contact police on (01132) 414859.