A MOTHER has spoken of the heart-stopping moment her three-year-old son was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment after he was badly injured in a head-on crash.

Natasha West was driving with her son Anthony Hamlett-West, two daughters and fiancé back home to Hythe when the family was in a collision with a van on the A3090 at East Wellow.

Five ambulances, the Hazardous Areas Response Team and a rapid response vehicle were alerted to the crash as well as two fire crews.

The 27-year-old mum said her car later “exploded” after her family were freed from the wreckage following the incident on January 27. But it soon became clear Anthony, 3, needed the most urgent medical attention.

Medics at University Hospital Southampton discovered Anthony needed further tests and he was taken to King’s College Hospital, London, for expert care and an operation on his pancreas and spleen.

Natasha said: “My fiancé and I had to be cut out from the car by firefighters after the crash.

"Anthony was admitted to Southampton hospital straightaway and, because he started complaining about his tummy hurting, they did some further tests before he was transferred to King’s College Hospital - where they decided they wanted to do an emergency operation.

“I was afraid of losing him before he had his operation, because I was worried he would take a turn for the worse. But the medics managed to do a great job and he is in ICU now."

Natasha hopes her beloved boy will not have any longer term health issues because of his crash injuries.

She said: "At the moment, we are taking things day-by-day, but hopefully he will not have any life-long complications."

As reported, five ambulances, the Hazardous Areas Response Team and a rapid response vehicle were alerted to the crash at 7.15pm on January 26, South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) confirmed.

The man and woman travelling in the van had minor injuries.

Firefighters from Romsey and Redbridge also responded to the collision and later made the scene safe.

Hampshire police said enquiries into the exact circumstances of the collision are ongoing.