Calamity Jane star Tara Buchanan had a near-disaster of her own when she was trapped in the back of her wagon on a remote country lane.

Tara, who recently played the role of the gun-slinging tomboy made famous by Doris Day, banged frantically on the side of her hired Ford Transit van after accidentally locking herself inside.

It took more than 20 minutes before her calls for help were answered - and it wasn't Wild Bill Hickock who came to the mother-of-two's rescue.

An elderly woman walking her dog at first thought the noises coming from the van were those of an amorous couple.

It was only when Tara shouted: "Let me out, I'm locked in," that she was finally freed.

Tara played the lead role in Battle Light Opera Group's production of Calamity Jane just weeks before her own drama.

It started when Tara, 38, a medical consultant, was driving back from London with an antique chest in the back. She was 15 minutes from her family home in Sedlescombe, near Battle, when she heard a noise and realised the chest's drawers had fallen out.

Tara stopped, opened the van's doors, leaving the keys in them, put the drawers back and made the desk more secure.

But disaster struck when a sudden gust of wind blew the doors shut, making her a prisoner. Her mobile phone was in the cab next to the driver's seat and there was no escape.

Tara said: "I knew I was trapped immediately the door slammed.

"There was no means of opening the door from the inside. I may have played the part of Calamity Jane but I didn't want this kind of calamity in my life.

"All I could do was shout and bang on the doors in the hope somebody would pass by.

"Luckily, the evening was still light. If it had been dark, I could have easily been hit by a vehicle coming round the corner as I had no hazard lights on.

"I've never been so scared in my life. I was stuck there for at least 20 minutes.

"I kept on thinking my husband must be worried and would soon start searching for me but he had no idea where I was.

"I banged and banged on the side shouting 'Someone let me out'. I had no idea how long I would be in there.

"Then I heard footsteps, realised there was someone walking past and asked them to open the doors. I was so relieved to see daylight again.

"I was so grateful to the woman, who admitted she at first did not want to approach because she thought there was a couple inside getting frisky."

Mrs Buchanan has rewarded her rescuer with a big bunch of flowers.