A 49-YEAR-OLD woman was left fighting for life after a hanging basket dropped onto her head at a Paddington pub.

The woman, a painter and decorator from Manchester, had been staying in London for work reasons.

But the accident occurred as she was enjoying a drink outside the Sussex Arms in London Street.

Without warning, a floral basket suspended from the first floor came crashing down.

The heavy, flower-filled pot fell directly onto the woman’s head, leaving her so badly injured that she had to be taken into intensive care at St Mary’s Hospital.

Paddington resident Linda King Taylor heard about the incident from a witness.

She said: “She was having a drink outside the pub and the hanging basket crashed down onto her and she’s fighting for her life now in St Mary’s Hospital. It was a critical incident.”

Another woman, who preferred not to be named but works at the nearby Royal Exchange pub, has been in touch with the woman’s family.

She said: “She was down here working from Manchester and said she was going to have a drink. She was sat outside the Sussex Arms and the flower pot fell on her head,” she said.

“She was crushed, she couldn’t breathe – she was in intensive care.

“Her son and daughter came down to be with her. They’ve spent thousands of pounds to stay here.

“They said she had an operation today (Tuesday) and this was the first day she knew they were there.”

A spokeswoman for the London Ambulance Service said: “We were called just before 9pm on October 3 to London Street to reports of a woman who had been hit by a falling object.

“We sent an ambulance crew to the scene and staff treated a 49-year-old woman for a head injury. She was taken to St Mary’s Hospital as a priority.”

No-one from The Sussex Arms was available to comment.