A WOMAN is today reflecting on an incredible escape after 25 airbags inflated inside her car to save her in a crash on the A31 on Wednesday.

The lady’s BMW convertible was crushed under an articulated lorry that was in collision with another lorry.

Fire crews said the design of the woman’s car, with its multiple airbags, had probably saved her life.

The A31 was closed for several hours between the B3078 Julian’s Road and the Merley Bird roundabout while the accident was investigated and cleared.

A Dorset Fire and Rescue (DFRS) spokeswoman said: “The woman was lucky.

"She was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure but is expected to be absolutely fine.

“She was saved by the construction of her BMW, which we understand was brand new.”

The dramatic sequence of events began when a drop-side lorry was in collision with the side of the articulated lorry close to the Lake Gates roundabout on the A31 at 3.30pm.

The Wimborne woman’s BMW ended up crushed beneath the rear of the huge trailer, yet she was released relatively unscathed when fire and rescue crews cut the roof from her car.

The lorries involved are registered to a Southampton company and an Essex firm.

The A31 – one of the county’s main east-west routes – was closed for several hours while the incident was investigated and the local authority dealt with the debris and fluid spilt.

Long tailbacks formed towards Wimborne, Poole and Dorchester as rush-hour traffic built up.

With traffic already seriously congested in the area, another lorry was involved in a collision on the A341 Oakley Hill at Merley just after 5pm, less than a mile from the earlier incident.

Yet another HGV then broke down at traffic lights at The Broads in Wimborne, near Queen Elizabeth School, at around 5.30pm, though it was quickly fixed and moved.