A woman who was forced to give birth to her stillborn daughter after she was injured in a horror crash has spoken of her relief after the dangerous driver was jailed.

Leroy Margolis, a 29-year-old accountant, was given a two year jail term after being convicted of causing serious injury by dangerous driving at Cambridge Crown Court earlier this month.

His Volvo V40 reached speeds of nearly 70mph before smashing into the side of a VW Polo carrying Louise Abbott, from Wethersfield, a jury heard.

Louise, 28, was 25 weeks pregnant when the accident happened.

She said: "Now, when we speak about it, we realise that, if it wasn't for Layla, maybe I wouldn't be alive today.

"Because of the extra blood I had in me due to my pregnancy, and because Layla cushioned the bump, I wouldn't have lived had it not been for her.

"I will never forget those words, 'I'm sorry, your baby has died'.

"I didn't cry, I didn't know what to feel. I had been holding onto every last hope that she was alive after the crash.

"Before the accident, I felt every single kick and bump and tiny move that the baby made- after his car hit ours, I felt nothing there.

"It was like I was empty."

Louise was rushed to hospital immediately after the accident where she was later told that her unborn baby had died as a result of the crash.

She gave birth to baby Layla within hours of reaching the hospital, but did not see her until a few days later.

Her husband Laurence, 29, who works as a graphic designer, said: "That was the worst bit, that's the bit I'll remember most poignantly, was them saying that our little Layla was dead.

"I'll never forget it.

"All you could hear was screaming, Louise was screaming and screaming and screaming and then they took Layla away from us before we could see her.

"Because we were in hospital for weeks after, we were allowed to see Layla quite a bit, whenever we wanted, in fact- that was nice, as part of the healing process."

Doctors then told her she may never have children because of one of her ovaries 'had been rendered useless' as a result of her injuries.

However she gave birth to a healthy daughter Avery by C-section last month.

Because she had just given birth, Louise didn't attend Leroy's trial, however she and her husband both went to watch him be jailed on October 6.

Louise said: "It was the worst experience of my life, but I cried when he was sentenced and had to leave the courtroom.

"I couldn't believe it, I'm relieved that I'll never have to go to court about this again, but he showed no remorse at all and didn't seem sorry for the pain he had caused.”

Louise added: "Our baby had little nails and hair and she was fully formed, fully developed, ready to be born the next day.

"But now, we know that without I might not be alive had it not been for the accident- and little Avery wouldn't have been born, and I wouldn't be here to have more children in the future.

"It's bittersweet. We've bought a special book to give to Avery, when she's old enough to understand that she once had a big sister, who just had to go to another place.

"We're looking forward to the future with our beautiful baby girl, and we will always remember our little Layla in the future."