A NEW mum has described how she was left terrified that her unborn baby had come to harm after her van flipped when it hit a deer in the Forest of Dean.

Tyler O'Brien, from Coleford, was driving to work last January when the animal ran into her Peugeot Expert in Worrall Hill, causing it to roll over twice.

And her words of warning have been backed by Forestry England, who say deer represent a significant danger on the roads, particularly during winter's shorter days.

The 29-year-old, who was 13 weeks pregnant at the time with son Alfie, who was born in June, said: "Looking back I feel extremely grateful and lucky that both me and my baby didn't come to harm.

"It was quite traumatic – but now I don't take life for granted."

The deer ran into the driver's side, causing the van to hit the mud on the outer track of the road which caused it to flip over before dragging Tyler 50 metres down the road on her roof and landing in a ditch.

One of her colleagues, an off-duty fireman, came upon the crash scene and was able to help her climb through the windscreen before driving her to hospital, where she and her unborn baby were given the all clear.

According to Ian Harvey, Forestry England's wildlife manager for west England, collisions with fallow deer are "highly under reported" but represent a significant danger.

"The impact of deer on vehicles nationally is quite a big issue, but probably under recorded because there's not a requirement from your insurance company... they just lump it as animal-related," he said.

His team attended 45 road incidents involving deer last year, and 54 involving wild boar, which can inflict "serious damage" to a vehicle.

Tyler, an account manager, still drives past the same spot on her commute to work and says: "I feel really stiff and frozen when I drive past it, but it does get easier, you just have to keep going.

"I was only going about 35mph, it just shows how dangerous it can be."

The crash did not activate the van's airbag, something Tyler is thankful for as she feared that it could have harmed her baby.

"I think it would have been a different story if the airbags had gone off as they would have gone straight into my tummy," she said.

Ms O'Brien, whose partner was away working in Switzerland at the time of the accident, said she is "definitely more cautious now".

"On my drive to work, I'm constantly making sure everything's clear, and at night, I'm a lot more observant," she said.

The RSPCA said more than 74,000 collisions involving deer occur every year, "the majority of which sadly result in the deer's death", although this time, it ran off into the woodland.

"This is not only a significant animal welfare problem but it can also be extremely dangerous for drivers and passengers too," said a spokesperson.

"Always report any deer-vehicle collisions to the police and record the incident at www.deeraware.com."