A BABYSITTER who tripped on a toy and broke her leg while looking after two-year-old twin boys has praised the toddlers for helping her call an ambulance after the freak accident.

Catherine McNeill was spending the day babysitting her friend’s sons, Jack and Charlie Swan, at their house near Bishop Auckland, on February 10.

Miss McNeill, 36, was carrying Jack into the living room, when she slipped on a Bob The Builder toy, and twisted her body as she fell to save the toddler from injury.

The awkward position caused her leg to break in two places, leaving her in agony and unable to move.

“My foot was pointing the wrong way, my leg was bent, and I was screaming because the pain was so bad,” she said.

“My mobile phone was in the kitchen, and I tried to get up, but couldn’t move.

“I managed to get a cushion under my leg, then I asked Jack to get his little chair from the hallway and take it into the kitchen. I told him to climb onto the chair to reach the kitchen work top – even though he knows he’s not usually allowed up there – and get my phone for me, so we could look at some pictures of my dog, Brutus, who the boys love.”

Miss McNeill suffered a fractured tibia and fibia, and underwent an operation to pin the bones back together.

She spent eight days in the University Hospital of North Durham, in Durham City, and now faces months of physiotherapy to help her recovery.

But she laughed at the irony of the toy that caused her injury, and praised Jack and Charlie for their help.

“Bob The Builder is supposed to fix things, not break things,” Miss McNeill joked.

“Charlie was crying and stayed in the kitchen, but Jack stayed next to me and just kept pointing at my leg.

“They did everything I told them to, and they loved going in the ambulance.

“All I could think was that I was meant to be helping them, but they ended up helping me.”