A firefighter who was forced to quit after falling 40ft is claiming compensation.

Sarah Cotton, 35, plunged over Shoreham flyover in December 1997 as she helped to free a trapped driver from the wreckage of a lorry.

Miss Cotton, from Worthing, suffered severe back, leg and pelvis injuries.

She was determined to return to work but in May 1999 was forced to quit because the lasting effects of her injuries made it impossible for her to carry on as a firefighter.

She is claiming compensation against her former employers, West Sussex County Council, the National Blood Service, whose lorry had crashed, and the Department of the Environment, which is responsible for the road.

All three parties are fighting her claim.

Yesterday, Miss Cotton told a hearing at Brighton County Court how she was trying to help the driver and passenger of the blood service lorry.

She was told by a senior officer to move from one side of the vehicle to another and decided, as a short cut, to climb over a roadside barrier.

She believed there was solid road on the other side of the barrier, which stood between the junction of the slip road and flyover.

But in the darkness, she was unaware there was only a gap and a drop to the road 40ft below.

Miss Cotton, a former triathlete and fitness adviser, said: "I assumed there was road on the other side of the barrier. I had no reason to think I was doing anything dangerous."

Under cross-examination, she denied she had not followed her training and checked before climbing the barrier.

She said: "As far as I am aware there was not a risk. I thought I was crossing from one bit of road to another. It is like walking along the pavement. You don't check every step you take."

Her accident happened about eight minutes after she arrived at the scene. She said she had been aware of a lot of activity from the emergency services around her and decided to climb the barrier as it appeared to be the quickest and easiest route.

She denied she had vaulted over the barrier without stopping to think what was on the other side. She said the debris from the accident, which was strewn across the road gave the impression it was solid ground.

The hearing continues.