LITTLE Jennifer Simpson from Yeadon cashed in on an amazing piece of luck after she swallowed a pound coin.

The coin had stuck in her throat leaving her choking for breath and her parents feared the worst as they made a desperate dash to hospital.

Her life was only saved thanks to a car accident which wrote off the family car - but dislodged the coin.

The three-year old escaped completely uninjured leaving her big brother Thomas, eight, worst off in the drama, suffering minor head injuries in the accident.

The coin was later removed by doctors and now both youngsters are recovering at home in Fern Bank Terrace.

Jennifer's mother Linda, 39, said the family were only two minutes from the casualty at Wharfedale General Hospital in Otley but her daughter was falling in and out of consciousness and she feared she would not make it.

Suddenly the car driven by her husband Alan, 43, skidded and was struck side-on by a van as it careered into the on-coming lane of Billam's Hill in Otley.

Thomas was injured but the rest of the family escaped unscathed - and they were astonished to find Jennifer had stopped choking.

"We're just looking on it as a little bit of a miracle because she wouldn't have made it to the hospital even though we were only two minutes away at that stage," said Mrs Simpson. "The accident just dislodged it - I couldn't really believe it.

"She came off without a scratch from the whole thing and is now back with a vengeance to her old self - she's smashing. All the way she was stopping breathing and I was having to slap her and bring her round. The accident must have moved it further back so it wasn't blocking her airway."

Mrs Simpson said she would in particular like to thank a Good Samaritan who stopped his car after the accident and ferried her, Thomas and Jennifer to the hospital. In the confusion she did not get his name, but he even returned to Mr Simpson to let him know his family were all right.

She said she also wanted to thank her family and friends for their help since the drama last Tuesday.

The coin was finally removed seven hours after the accident after Jennifer was transferred to Leeds General Infirmary where doctors managed to fish it out. Mrs Simpson said: "She's got in now in a little jar with her name on it so she can look at it."

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