THEY say life begins at 40 and for one Verwood woman that could not be more true.

Just a few days after reaching the milestone age, teacher Catherine Pennington’s life was saved by a lorry driver who saw her collapse by the side of the M27.

Asthmatic Catherine, of Manor Road, pulled over on her way to a funeral in Liverpool when she started to feel breathless.

She said: “After that I couldn’t breathe at all and my inhaler wasn’t working. I got out of the car and tried to flag traffic down for about 20 minutes, but no one stopped.”

It was then that she collapsed. Lorry driver Pete Street, from Fareham in Hampshire, saw her fall to her knees.

Catherine continued: “At that point I was unconscious and in a coma. He stopped his lorry in front of my car and ran back to my car.

“He put me on the floor and got my tongue out of my throat, put me in the recovery position and called an ambulance.”

The mum-of-one came within minutes of death, ambulance crews later told her.

Luck was also on Catherine’s side as Pete was an ex-lifeboat crewman and knew first aid. He was praised by the police and ambulance service and the pair have since had a tearful reunion.

Catherine added: “I owe my life to him; I expressed that in an emotional letter to him and it was an emotional meeting when we met up. When he found me he thought I had died.”

The experience has also inspired Catherine – she has designed a sign that asthmatics can put in their car when in distress, as well as pieces of jewellery in the shape of an inhaler that sufferers can wear.

She is now well on the road to recovery and in training to do a charity challenge that will see her ride 40 miles on a bike, climb Mount Snowdon and canoe for two miles.