A PREGNANT York teenager has praised the two “best policemen in the world” who came to her rescue after a late-night sledging trip left her trapped in freezing temperatures.

Chantelle Ward and her partner Daniel drove into the East Yorkshire countryside for what they hoped would be a snowy 16th birthday celebration for her brother, only for their car to skid off the road and hurtle into a hedge.

The accident left the trio, who did not have mobile phones to call for help, stranded and struggling for warmth in the stricken Land Rover Discovery for six hours, unaware its heating system was blowing potentially lethal fumes into the vehicle.

Finally, at about 5am the next day, they spotted lights flashing in the distance and, after a mile-long trek through waist-deep snowdrifts near Pocklington, Chantelle’s brother Joseph met the two officers, Pc Neil Fraser and Pc Tony Harrison, who took them to safety.

“I was scared to death, but the officers were amazing,” said Chantelle, 19, of Tang Hall, who is 16 weeks pregnant and suffers from a blood disorder which is made worse by cold weather.

“After we skidded off the road, we sat in the car for a few moments, shocked, until I got myself together and realised we would have to stay there until the morning and somebody came to help.”

The group turned the heating on full blast inside the vehicle as they battled to keep warm, but did not know about the harm the fumes this created could have caused them.

“When we saw the lights in the distance, we flashed our lights back, then Joseph got out of the car and walked about a mile where he met two policemen,” said Chantelle. “I had to stay inside as I’m pregnant and my baby is the priority. They came back through the thick snow and helped me out of the car, and one of the policemen gave me his coat, which was so kind. They told us afterwards that, because we had the heating on, fumes had been blowing into the car, which could have been deadly. They got us into their vehicle and drove us to Pocklington police station, where they gave us cups of tea until we got warm.

“I think they were the best policemen ever and I just want to say a huge thank you – they are heroes.”

The two Beverley-based instant response officers were in the area checking for vehicles having problems in the snow when they saw the Land Rover’s hazard warning lights. In a statement, they said: “We were just doing our job and just pleased we came across the car when we did.”