17031TEARS of joy were in the eyes of two mothers as they watched their children marry on Saturday. But it was a moment that they admit they were lucky to be alive to see.

An horrific car crash in Staverton less than 48 hours earlier, could easily have cost them their lives.

Jill James and Shirley Penny were coming home from a manicure before the wedding, when the accident happened, leaving their friend Kay Clayton, the car driver, seriously injured in hospital and her companions feeling fortunate to be alive.

Mrs James, of Fleur de Lys Drive, Southwick, whose daughter Kate married Adrian Penny at St Michael and All Angels Church, Hilperton, said: "It was a perfect day. Before the accident I had been worried about the weather and every little detail.

"After that I thought "I don't care, I am lucky to be alive'."

Mrs Penny, of Paxcroft Mead, Trowbridge, said: "It made you realise that life can be snuffed out so quickly.

"Kay is my soul mate. I felt as though my right arm was missing without her there on Saturday. I was totally lost without her."

Mrs Clayton, 47, of North Bradley, was trapped in her Ford Focus after the crash, which happened at 8.30pm after the trio, with another friend Anneliese Seddon, had been for a manicure in Bath, to look their best for the big day.

She damaged her neck vertebrae when her car was in a collision with a Saxo driven by a local man before the bend leading up to the railway bridge.

Police investigations into the accident, which closed the road for two hours, are continuing.

On Tuesday her family were at her bedside in the RUH, Bath, when doctors told her she did not have a broken neck. "That was a big relief, but her neck is very fragile," her daughter Jo said.

Mrs Penny and Mrs James both suffered severe bruising, as did Ms Seddon, of Trowbridge, who only learned after the wedding that she had also cracked a rib.

Staverton villagers rushed out to help the women. "People were fantastic, there was a doctor, he helped hold Kay's neck still until the ambulance arrived. We are so grateful to them all," Mrs Penny said.

Mrs Penny, Mrs James and Mrs Clayton became friends when their children were all members of the Southwick and North Bradley Scout and Guide Band, which is where Kate and Adrian first met.

Mrs Clayton was going to drive Mrs James and the bridesmaids, including her four-year-old god-daughter Reanne Penny, the bridegroom's niece, to the wedding. "Reanne was very happy Aunty Kay was going to be there," her grandmother said.

Amid the happiness there was a particularly poignant moment on Saturday, when the wedding party had to pass the crash scene as they drove to the reception at the Leigh Park Hotel.