A NORTH-EAST woman is recovering in Spain after being gored at a bull running event.

Leandra Edmonds, 41, left her job as a careers advisor at Durham County Council three years ago and moved to Benidorm to start a career as a singer.

She was seriously injured two weeks ago when she went to watch the famous bull running at Benitachell in south-east Spain.

Bull running is a popular attraction in that part of the country, and hundreds of spectators come to watch young men test their skills by running through the streets in front of the bulls.

Ms Edmonds was watching the action with her sister Jayne and boyfriend Les Richards when a bull broke through one of the wooden barriers protecting the crowd and tossed her into the street.

Witnesses said she was thrown into the air like a rag doll six or seven times before spectators managed to distract the bull and get her to a nearby ambulance.

She was taken to hospital where she was treated for multiple fractures to her ribs and internal injuries.

She also suffered severe abrasions to her arms and legs and bruising.

She is now at her home in Javier but it is expected to be several months before she is fully recovered.

She said: "I'm in a lot of pain but I'm on the mend now.

"I can't remember much about what happened because I was unconscious but I do remember them releasing the bulls.

"They were released one by one and the locals jumped in front of them to provoke them and make it more exciting.

"One of them came straight for me and threw me into the air. Apparently I was lucky to be alive."

Ms Edmonds warned other tourists about the dangers of bull running.

She said: "Les and I decided to take Jayne to show her a bit of the real Spain while she was over here and it nearly ended in disaster.

"When I was in hospital I met a man who had also been injured by a bull, and a Danish student had been killed the week before.

"I had no idea how dangerous it was or I would never have gone."