A GRANDMOTHER who was injured when a pane of glass crashed on her head yesterday said she was lucky to be alive.

Jenny Wilkinson was left concussed and suffered a gash to her head when she was hit by the glass as she pushed one-year-old granddaughter, Charlotte, in her buggy.

The accident left her needing eight stitches but Ms Wilkinson, 56, said it could have been a lot worse.

Ms Wilkinson, of The Poplars, Ferring, said: "I had my hand on Charlotte's buggy and it was just in front of me. It was a step away.

"It could have been Charlotte. She and her sister are my joy, they're my life. It doesn't bear thinking about what might have happened if it had been Charlotte or another child."

The glass fell 10ft but landed flat on Ms Wilkinson's head rather than point down. It was still so sharp that some strands of hair were cut in half.

Workmen were removing a 7ft by 3ft window from above a shop front on Salvington Road, Worthing, and it broke as they tapped it out, sending shards crashing to the floor below.

Contractor Brightview said the piece which hit Ms Wilkinson had been caught by the wind and swept past safety barriers.

Ms Wilkinson does not remember being hit by the glass. A witness told her she stood still for a couple of seconds before falling unconscious.

When she came round she was being looked after by passers-by and shopkeepers who called an ambulance.

She said: "I just have these glimpses of things. A men held my hand and the pharmacist was asking me what my name was.

"I couldn't remember my name but I knew I was with the baby and I could remember her name. The ladies looking after her kept telling me she was okay."

Ms Wilkinson did not take in what had happened to her until she was in the ambulance and realised she had a bandage on her head. She asked the ambulanceman if someone had hit her and he told her it was a piece of glass.

After having stitches at Worthing hospital she was sent home. Her partner Ken Smith, 60, took time off work at Lewes Prison to look after her while she recovered from the concussion.

She said: "It's probably only a short-term effect but I can't have the lights out. As soon as it's dark I start looking for Charlotte and I can't find her and start panicking."

Ms Wilkinson is considering seeking compensation for the accident but said it has not made her into a more nervous person A spokesman for Brightview said: "Health and safety are involved and investigations are being made."