A woman left trapped in her car following a three vehicle crash has praised the emergency services who came to her aid.

Natalie Harris was travelling along Brighton Road, Coulsdon, on June 13, when she was hit from behind by a G4S van.

The force of the crash caused her to hit the car in front, and the 23-year-old hairdresser supervisor, was left trapped in her car for about two hours.

Police, fire and an ambulance crew were called to the scene just after 8.10am, and a specialist rescue unit used hydraulic equipment to cut Miss Harris free.

She said: "I was on my way to work and was sat at the lights. I could see the G4S van in my rear view mirror, it was coming so fast I thought it was going to stop but it didn't I just screamed and thought 'Oh no I'm going to die.'

"My knee was trapped, it was really painful but they didn't want to move me in case I had other injuries. There was a police medic who held my neck for about an hour, everyone was brilliant."

Miss Harris was taken to Croydon University Hospital where she underwent a CT Scan and X-ray.

She escaped the crash with no broken bones but suffered whiplash, bruising, a swollen knee and pain to her neck and lower back. She was discharged later the same day and was told to rest.

She added: "I just want to say a big thank you to all the emergency staff.

"The ambulance staff were very good, it was so stressful but they kept me so calm. I have never had an accident before, I didn't know what to expect.

"I panicked but they were so calm and made me feel so comfortable. It was like they were my friends even though they had only just met me.

"I also want to apologise to all the drivers and commuters who was stuck in traffic that morning, I feel really bad because of all the traffic the crash caused."

Police served a fixed penalty notice on one driver at the scene for failing to have the correct insurance.