A WOMAN who strapped up her broken leg with a scarf before crawling a mile through muddy woodland has thanked a taxi driver who came to her rescue.

Michelle O’Carroll was walking her six Siberian huskies late one night in early September when she slipped after jumping over a puddle at The Heaps area of Consett, County Durham.

The 36-year-old sales advisor, from Blackhill, Consett, said: “I heard it snap but I have no idea why but I felt no pain. I just thought I would strap it up with my scarf.

“The worst part was pulling myself along the ground over concrete and over woodland on my hands and knees, so I tried to stay on the grassy areas.

“I had to be single-minded to keep going, otherwise I would have been discovered at 7am the next day under a pile of huskies.”

Ms O’ Carroll managed to get to the roadside, where she tried to summon help but four taxis drove by until Ross Mc- Grath, who already had a fare, stopped and came to her rescue.

He used his mobile telephone to summon an ambulance and call Ms O’Carroll’s friend, Dean Lowther, who came to collect the dogs.

He then got his first aid kit from his boot and covered her with a foil blanket and his jacket until the ambulance arrived.

She was taken to hospital for treatment and later received flowers and a get well soon card from Mr McGrath.

Mr McGrath, 27, of Steading Court, Consett, has been driving for Jackson’s Taxis for a year-and-a-half.

He said: “There were a load of dogs and she was so frantic, I knew it was serious.

“It was a horrible night, raining really heavily. She had come a really long way on her own, so I just helped her with the last bit. It is just human nature.”

Last night, Ms O’Carroll, who is on crutches and could be off work for the next eight- 12 weeks with her leg, which was broken in four places, paid tribute to Mr McGrath’s kindness.

She said: “I would like to say a big thank-you to Ross. If he hadn’t stopped, I would probably have been left there. He is an all round nice guy and a bit of a hero to me.

“I cannot fault anyone, the NHS were brilliant, the nurses and the ambulance men, everybody was fantastic.”