A MOTHER who was narrowly missed by the metal frame of a falling Christmas decoration has said it was a miracle she and her baby were not seriously injured. Speaking to The Hunts Post, Ann Beck said she had been walking along St Neots High Street with h

A MOTHER who was narrowly missed by the metal frame of a falling Christmas decoration has said it was a 'miracle' she and her baby were not seriously injured.

Speaking to The Hunts Post, Ann Beck said she had been walking along St Neots High Street with her friend and neighbour, Elena Giddens, when the lights and masonry fell from a building.

"I was pushing my seven-month-old child, Myles, in his pram when I heard a loud rumble and we were being showered with bricks and rubble," said Mrs Beck.

"It all happened so quickly - everything came crumbling down and the lights were swinging in the road. It was all very upsetting."

The mother of three described how she dived on top of her pram to protect Myles before she and Mrs Giddens pushed the pram away from the falling debris.

Mrs Beck, 35, added: "The first thing I thought about was to save my child. I had to get the pram out of the way of the falling bricks. I fractured my hand doing this. I cannot believe the amount of rubble that fell down and that we all survived."

Mrs Giddens, who has one child, was knocked unconscious by a piece of falling masonry, and a passing car was hit by the metal frame. The 39-year-old, who has been a neighbour of Mrs Beck for three years, had five stitches to her head and suffered three broken ribs.

She is now said to recovering at home in Eynesbury Manor.

Looking back on the accident, Mrs Beck, who would normally have watched the switching on of the town's lights with her family, said it could have been a lot worse

"If this had happened on the Friday night when the High Street was packed full of families it does not bear thinking about what might have happened," she said.

The women are both now taking legal action.

An investigation is taking place into the cause of the accident on Thursday, December 6 - the day before the lights were due to be switched on by Chas and Dave.

St Neots Town Council, which is responsible for lighting up the town for Christmas, had intended to invest £151,000 over five years, leasing lights from Kent-based company Millennium Quest.

The agreement included Millennium Quest putting up the lights, brining them down again, and maintenance.

The lights have since been taken down, but the Mayor of St Neots, Councillor Bob Eaton, said it would not ruin Christmas for the town.

"People are very sympathetic about what happened and they also understand why we had to take down the lights. But the lights on the bridge look nice and the Market Square looks really good and I still think it will be a good Christmas in St Neots."

He added that the town would be holding Christmas celebrations in the Market Square on Sunday with an ice skating rink and a children's fair.

Mrs Beck added that she just wanted to put the "ordeal" behind her and concentrate on Christmas.

"It was a horrible thing to have to go through and with Christmas approaching I need to be strong for my children and get on with things," she said. "Elena and I want everyone to know that we are alive and well and it could have been a whole lot worse.

"Myles was not injured. He was unsettled but he is okay.