An ex-PC has told a court how he saw a firefighter vault a crash barrier and plummet 40ft during a rescue operation.

Emergency services had been called to the A27 Shoreham flyover when a lorry smashed into the barrier.

John Burgess, a former traffic police constable based at Shoreham, told Brighton County Court he watched firefighter Sarah Cotton fall to the ground.

Miss Cotton, 35, from Worthing, is claiming compensation from her former employer, West Sussex County Council, as well as 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.

Mr Burgess yesterday told the court how the rescue services were trying to help the injured people in the lorry as well as stopping traffic near the accident, which happened in December 1997.

He said he saw the firefighter put two hands on the barrier and jump over. He said: "The whole of her body went over the barrier and disappeared into a void."

Miss Cotton, who was based at Shoreham, denied vaulting the barrier without stopping to check what was on the other side first.

She earlier told the court she believed there was a solid road the other side of the barrier and decided to climb over to get around the lorry as quickly as possible. But in the darkness, she was unaware there was only a gap and a drop to the ground 40ft below.

Miss Cotton tried to return to work but in May 1999, she was forced to quit because the effects of her severe back, leg and pelvic injuries made it impossible for her to carry on as a firefighter.

The hearing continues.