IT was just a playful romp with her two young daughters in the bedroom of their Upper Wield home that turned to disaster when Clair Jeffery’s three-year-old jumped on her back.

At the time she had been speaking on the phone to her husband, Boyce, who was stuck in the Isle of Man with his sister after their flight home was delayed.

“We were having a fun rough and tumble while speaking to Boyce and when Ellie jumped on my back,” Clair, a nurse, told the Herald. “I felt an excruciating pain and I blacked out. My husband thinks it must have been for about 10 minutes. However, my seven-year-old daughter, Hazel, picked up the phone and told her dad what had happened and he told her to stay calm, that help would be on its way.

“He also told her to put the dog – we have a young Jack Russell – in a safe place and to open the door for the ambulance team.

“Meanwhile, my sister-in-law phoned her daughter, Summer Brash, in Four Marks, to come and help me and my neighbour, Debbie Ballard, was also alerted.

“Hazel stayed very calm and made sure Ellie was safe while I was unconscious.

“She also managed to put the dog in another room before opening the front door. She came back to the bed and never left my side and then Summer arrived and dialled 999 for an ambulance.

“I couldn’t move, I was in a lot of pain and I was so grateful Hazel was coping so well, comforting me and looking after her three-year-old sister.”

Clair, who is in her 30s, was kept in overnight in hospital and two weeks later is still in pain and unable to go to work.

Hazel attends Medstead Primary School and when they heard how she had coped in the emergency they presented her with a courage award.

There will be another award for her as Clair is planning to give Hazel a special treat by taking her to Marwell Zoo, with the family and Summer, so the seven year old can meet the giraffes who are her favourite animals.

“It is a treat she really deserves because I am so proud of her,” said Clair.