A 22-STONE woman had to be freed by firefighters after getting stuck in her bathtub for five hours.

Chubby Rosemarie Batey slipped over in the shower and became wedged there unable to climb out.

She was stuck until her son, who was asleep at the other end of the house, heard her cries for help and called for the fire brigade who used a saw to cut the 49-year-old free.

The grandmother-of-three has now vowed to lose weight after her embarrassing ordeal.

Her nightmare had started when she decided to take a midnight shower at her home in Tantobie near Stanley, County Durham.

She was recovering after breaking her ankle last year and when she propped up her bad foot to wash it, a crack in the bath gave way and she fell over.

She said: "There has been a crack in the bath since last year, so I only use the shower above it. But the crack had been getting bigger and bigger.

"I was standing under the shower and I had my left foot up to wash it when I heard a great big crack and away I went, I started falling and then slipped on the shower cream.

"It all happened so quick, but I somehow managed to turn the shower off as I fell.

"My legs went from underneath me. My back was wedged against the wall and I was stuck."

Rosemarie, who is separated from her husband, cut her feet and legs on the split bath as she fell and blood began pouring from her wounds as she lay in the bath unable to move.

She began shouting for help. But her son Stuart, 23, was asleep in bed and could not hear her.

"I was screaming and shouting for help, but my son was at the other end of the house so he couldn't hear me.

"I tried and tried to prise myself out but I couldn't. I was terrified. I thought I was going to die - I could see all the blood and I thought I was going to lose my foot."

The fall left Rosemarie with cuts to her ankles and hands, and despite all her efforts to get up she was stuck fast with only a shower curtain to spare her blushes.

She said: "My legs were trapped beneath me and I couldn't twist them round.

"I pulled the shower curtain down to keep me warm and I was shaking as it was a cold night. I kept splashing myself with water to keep myself awake.

"I could feel my ankle bleeding - I could see it. I thought I'd cut my foot off. I told myself If you go to sleep, you might not wake up.

"The pain was terrific. I must have drifted off for a bit, and when came round I started banging on the side of the bath.

"At about 6am my son came in and said 'What have you done', I told him to get his claw hammer to get me out, or phone 999."

Firefighters from Consett Fire Station used a saw to cut Rosemarie free while paramedics stood-by with her nightie ready to slip on as soon as she was freed.

"Luckily I had a clean nightie there ready for me to put on when I came out to hide my embarrassment."

She was taken to Dryburn Hospital, Durham, where she was treated for her injuries.