A dentist whose car flipped on its side trapping her three children wants to thank brave passers-by who came to their aid.

Monika Barua, was driving to visit her parents for a family Sunday dinner in Belmont, when she had to swerve to avoid an oncoming car as she travelled along Northey Avenue.

However Mrs Barua oversteered and hit a tree on the opposite side of the road causing her VW Sharan to flip onto its side. Seeing the stranded car, motorists stopped to help and passers-by rushed to help.

Dr Barua, from Guildford, said: "We thought the car might explode. A football coach from a local club climbed on top of our car and helped me get the kids out through an open window and then helped pull me out of the passenger door.

The kids had such a scare, but thankfully some ladies came to help and held the kids and who comforted them. It's remarkable, but one of the twins slept through the whole thing."

"We would like to say a big belated thank you to everyone who helped us that day. Also the emergency services were brilliant, the ambulance, fire brigade and police were wonderful. I was the only one injured with my right hand badly damaged."

The mother-of-three, two of whom are two-year-old twins, returned to work last week after having surgery to repair the seriously cut hand.

"My hand was pouring with blood, when the kids came over to me after they were so upset to see it, they couldn't look at it."

The incident happened on September 30 last year. Did you help to free Mrs Barua and her family?

Contact jpepper@london.newsquest.co.uk.