Alanna Casement who was impaled on her bicycle handlebars on Saturday
An 11-year-old girl nearly died on Staurday night after becoming impaled on her bicycle handlebars.
Collette Casement, mother of Alanna Casement spoke of how Alanna's thigh injury left her spouting blood like a fountain.
She also praised Alanna's friends who acted quickly on order to save her life.
The accident happened in Castlewellan Forest Park at the weekend, with paramedics airlifting Alanna to the Royal Victoria Hospital where she was treated after she severed a vital main vein.
"A paramedic was there pretty quickly who wasn’t even working at time,” Colette told the Daily Mirror.
“The paramedics and the police were amazing but they said she had to be airlifted and she was at the [Royal Victoria Hospital] in seven minutes.”
She added: “There’s just so much to take in, but it seems that the fact it happened close to the caravans where our friends were looking after her that they were able to stem the blood flow.
“It’s not clear if she would have made it if she had to go in an ambulance which would have been more than half an hour.
“Apparently if she’d been away off around the lake things could have been very, very different."
Collette also thanked police officers whose quick action helped save Alanna's life.
She said: "I can't thank those people enough. Thanks to them there has been a happy outcome. There is a bit of a way ahead for her in terms of recovery but she is doing very well. She is so very lucky."
Alanna, from Annacloy, near Ballynahinch, is recovering in hospital where she is in a stable condition.