A WOMAN begged for death after her legs were crushed by drunk driver Steven Johnson.

Natalie Griffiths was loading the boot of her Mini in Pine Road when Johnson, 22, lost control of his Ford Focus and ploughed into a Volkswagen Polo.

The Polo then shunted forced, trapping Miss Griffiths by her legs.

Johnson got out of his moving car and ran away from the scene, leaving his victim lying in agony on the road.

Miss Griffiths, now 35, screamed out: "I'm dying - I think I'm dying.

"I want to die. I'm in so much pain. I just want to die."

Despite the severity of her injuries, Miss Griffiths insisted on calling mum Julie as she waited to be airlifted to hospital.

During the the call, she said: "I'm ok, I'm fine.

"My leg hurts a bit but I'm ok. I'm going to be ok."

Doctors were eventually forced to amputate her right leg above the knee.

Since the crash, Miss Griffiths - who previously loved running, skiing and horse riding - said she has lost her confidence and independence.

"I avoid mirrors because I'm disgusted by my reflection," she said.

"I grieve for the person I once was."

Miss Griffiths had been in a relationship with boyfriend Richard Phelps for just three months before the crash.

She said she fears he no longer finds her attractive and is still in a relationship with her "through guilt".

"Sometimes I wish I'd died," she said.

"It would have been easier."

Miss Griffiths, a mortgage underwriter for Nationwide in Bournemouth, has been left an "excruciating" pain as a result of the collision.

"I want the person responsible to understand how a few moments can change a life forever," she said.

Speaking after Johnson was jailed for three years, Miss Griffiths said: "I found it so difficult because I wasn't doing anything wrong or dangerous.

"If I was skiing and something had happened, then it would have been my own fault.

"I find that really hard."

Miss Griffiths is still struggling to learn how to walk again.

"I've got to deal with this for the rest of my life and any sentence is never going to be enough," she said.

"He'll probably be out of prison before I can run again. That really gets me down."

She thanked police for an "incredible job" securing Johnson's conviction.

"I can't thank them enough," she said.

"What they did was amazing."