A mother-of-two left at death's door by an horrific road crash has defied the odds in her battle for life.

Natalli Fisher, 35, was critically injured in a road accident which killed her best friend Audrey Tunstall.

She was left in a coma with devastating brain, pelvis, arm and chest injuries which saw her undergo 19 hours of surgery at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle after the accident on the A596 outside Dunmail park near Workington on October 22.

Now, after regaining consciousness, she has been transferred to a specialist brain injury rehabilitation unit at the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle.

Her sister 33-year-old Caroline Forber spoke of Natalli's courage and described her as a "marvel."

"Natalli is amazing. She has defied all the odds to cheat death," she said.

"She is just marvellous. I can't believe she is where she is today after what happened to her. She was determined not to leave her children and family."

Caroline said Natalli, who lives in Seaton and has two children Billy and Gabrielle, was beginning to respond after coming out of the coma.

"She still has to undergo more surgery and is not using the left hand side of her body but we have seen a slight response from her which gives us optimism.

"Doctors say they won't know the extent of her brain damage for six to 12 months and it will be two to three years before we can expect a full recovery but she is still here and that's what counts."

Natalli and 79-year-old Audrey Tunstall, the woman who died, lived just doors apart in the village of Seaton where Caroline and her parents also live.

The pair were crossing the A596 near Dunmail Park shopping centre when they were struck by a Volkswagen Passat car.

Mrs Tunstall, who leaves a son and two sisters, was taken to the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle, where she died.

Meanwhile a Facebook fundraising appeal to support Natalli has raised £5506 - well above its original target of £2500

Mandy Quinn, 51, who used to live in Seaton but now works in Gibraltar, set up the page with a target of £2,500.

A 46-year-old man from Workington was arrested after the accident on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and is on police bail until December 19.