Quick-thinking youngsters have been praised for helping to save a schoolgirl's teeth after she knocked them out in a fall from a moving train.

Eleven-year-old Jacqueline Heybrooke, 11, from Burgess Hill, knocked out two of her front teeth as she tumbled while opening the door as the train came into Hassocks station.

Six older pupils from Downlands School, Hassocks, saw her fall at about 8.35am yesterday and immediately scoured the platform for her missing teeth.

They used a jumper on her mouth to stem the bleeding, called the school and her family and asked a station official to ring an ambulance.

Jacqueline was later able to have her teeth implanted by dentist Colin Rose of Burgess Hill.

She also cut her chin, bruised a knee and sprained a wrist in the accident.

Jacqueline's mother Helen said: "I shall be writing to the school to mention the youngsters who helped. It would have been so easy for them to have panicked.

"When I saw my daughter it absolutely terrified me, but they seem to have stayed calm.

"They had the good sense to search for the teeth - otherwise the transplant would not have been possible. They are a super bunch of youngsters."

The train Jacqueline fell from was one of the old-fashioned slam-door trains which are being gradually phased out.

Mrs Heybrooke said: "She is very lucky. The accident could have been a lot worse and I think she has learnt her lesson."

It is expected to be about a month before it is known whether the tooth operation succeeded. Meanwhile Jacqueline must remain on a diet of softer foods.