'After the train hit I tried to breathe life into Terri but there was nothing I could do. So I held her, whispering and praying for divine intervention..' EXCLUSIVE PAL RELIVES RAIL HORROR.

Byline: BY REBECCA EVANS 

IT started out as just another one of the strolls the two women, close friends for 20 years, enjoyed together every week.

Heather George and Terri Mansell were talking about holiday plans as they approached the rail crossing they had used hundreds of times.

But yesterday Heather spoke of her desperate fight to save her friend when she got a foot stuck on the line and was then hit by a speeding train.

Shaking and weeping, the 50-year-old told the Mirror: "I was screaming, it didn't seem real. I ran over to help and lay her in the recovery position and cleared her airway. I could see she was seriously injured.

"Her tongue was blue and there was no breath or pulse. I tried to resuscitate her. I kept trying to breathe life into her but there was nothing I could do.

"So I cleared the nettles from her head and held her, I just held her, crying and whispering to her - praying for divine intervention. I tried to dial 999 but couldn't get it together, so I phoned my partner and he did it. I cradled her in my arms and waited for what seemed like an eternity until an ambulance arrived."

Terri, 66, an artist and charity worker, was killed just 100 yards from her home in Staines, Surrey.

The mother of two died instantly when she was struck at about 45mph by the train on Wednesday.

Heather went on: "We had known each other years. She was my best friend. She hadn't been very well and we were talking about a yoga holiday. We used to walk every week and had crossed there thousands of times.

"But this time she slipped and her foot became wedged between the wooden planks and the electric rail.

"There was no horn or signal to let us know a train was coming. I looked and saw a train speeding towards us and before I could help, it hit her.

"Terri was an angel, so wise and peaceful. She's touched so many lives. She would bring out the best in you and make you see good.

"She was full of praise, always laughing. I just wish it had been me who died, I have no children. She leaves behind two children and five grandchildren and adored them. The only comfort is that she'd died instantly."

Terri had become a grandmother for the fifth time when baby Nerida was born just weeks before her death. Son Ian, 38, and daughter Gemma, 34, paid tribute to their "inspirational and beautiful" mum.

Sitting in Terri's home, Ian said: "There are some people you can lose and life carries on. But there are certain people who shine so brightly, life without them is unbearable - nothing is the same."

Terri's creativity and talent can be seen throughout her house, her artwork hanging next to homemade curtains and mosaics.

Ian went on: "Mum loved reading, opera and Pink Floyd. She adored travelling - she named her two cats after her favourite places, Florence and Paris.

"She made her own clothes and jewellery. She was an amazing woman - full of wisdom and inspiration.

"Mum had so many friends I can't think of a place big enough to hold her funeral and wake."

Terri also leaves behind grandchildren Aidan, six, Laila, five, Ollie, four, and 18-month-old Dillon.

Gemma added: "She saw beauty in everything. She always had the right advice, she was always very accepting and full of love. Superficial things didn't matter to her. She loved us all so much."

But Ian believes his mum's death was an accident waiting to happen. He said: "It must be one of the only crossings without a plastic grip. I just hope that now something will be done about this."

In 2005, residents launched a campaign to make the crossing safer and asked Network Rail to cover the wood with rubber matting to stop it becoming slippery in cold weather. A young girl who strayed from the crossing was electrocuted five years ago.

Terri's death comes a month after a 29-year-old woman died on a level crossing in Colchester, Essex. And on Tuesday, Dean Pickard and girlfriend Katie Gumble were killed on a line at Harlow Mill, also in Essex.

CAPTION(S):

TRIBUTES Scene of the accident; VICTIM Tragic Terri Mansell with her son Ian Picture: DAVID DYSON; FRIEND Heather and Ian speak of their loss yesterday