ONE of the people who helped to rescue a seven-year-old girl from a road collision which claimed the life of her younger brother has come forward after 25 years.

Sandra Hind, 66, was on her way to work at Dalgety Agriculture in Royston in November 1987 when she came across the burning vehicle that Sam Lyon, her brother Anthony and mum Cynthia Spillman had been travelling in moments before.

The car had burst into flames after being hit by a lorry as it waited at the junction of A1198 and A603. Anthony, five, was killed instantly and Sam, who now lives in Sawtry, had to endure nine years of extensive plastic surgery to her face and hands.

Mrs Hind, who at the time lived in Tadlow, remembers a man running towards her with Sam in his arms. He had managed to pull the child out of the car but had broken her leg in the process.

Mrs Hind used her own coat to wrap Sam in and helped to make an impromptu splint for her leg using a sweeping brush. She then cradled the youngster in her arms while the pair waited for the emergency services.

The retired HR manager said: “Many times I have wondered what happened to her. She was cuddled up in her school coat and her hair was singed and her face was black, but the burns had not started to react.

“I remember thinking ‘What should I do?’ and screaming at people to get a splint for her leg. The guy who had pulled her out had got a sweeping brush and strapped them together so she could not move.

“Sam was conscious and I asked her to tell me her name and all about school and all her favourite things whilst trying to shield her from seeing the burning car.

“The ambulance was something like 45 minutes. The Magpas doctor came separately in a car and I held her arm while he tried to get a line in.

“I wanted to go in the ambulance, but they wouldn’t let me.”

But Mrs Hind, a grandmother of five who now lives in Nottinghamshire, had heard no further news of Sam until her son came across an article in The Hunts Post.

Sam, now 31, and a physiotherapist at Papworth Hospital, is using her ordeal to promote her partner’s 21,000 mile trip around Europe, Africa and Asia.

Dr Chris Targett is hoping to raise money for medical emergency charity Magpas and African medical charity Riders for Health. The 34-year-old will start his journey in February and is appealing for sponsorship.

INFORMATION: To sponsor Chris or find out more go to www.tiggerstravel.org