A COUPLE today relived the horrific moment they battled to save the life of a woman who had turned herself into a human fireball.

Robert Graham, 24, of Acomb, York, and his fiance, Sarah Taylor, were enjoying a drive out in the countryside when they spotted a blazing car in a lay-by.

As they got nearer, Ms Taylor, 23, suddenly screamed out after noticing the burning woman lying metres from her Ford Fiesta - covered in flames. It is believed she had doused herself in petrol before setting herself alight.

"I shouted at Rob to stop and we both ran over to her," she told The Press.

"She was in a terrible state - all her clothes and hair had burned away.

"I felt sick and panicky but we did what we could for her."

The quick-thinking couple frantically smothered the flames with Mr Graham's jacket before he drove to get help from nearby picnickers and called the emergency services on his mobile phone.

The emergency services today praised the actions of the couple, describing them as "very brave".

Ms Taylor, who flagged down a passing motorist to ask for help, said the woman was conscious throughout the incident and groaning in pain. Her blazing car - which was just metres from them - eventually rolled off the embankment and exploded.

Two empty bottles were found near where the woman was lying, which were believed to have contained petrol.

Police revealed the 40-year-old victim later died in hospital after suffering 90 percent burns.

Mr Graham, a builder, who is getting married later this year, said he could not get the image of the burning woman out of his head.

"No amount of first aid training prepares you for a real life situation like this," he said.

"We did the best we could for her with the resources we had. Every part of her was on fire. Our thoughts just go out to her family."

The couple, who were on a family weekend break, found the woman at the top of an embankment on Sunday afternoon on the Slaley to Blanchland road in Northumberland.

Paramedics from the Great North Air Ambulance airlifted her to Newcastle General Hospital, but she died yesterday from serious burns.

A spokeswoman for Northumbria Police said they were not treating the death as suspicious.

Ms Taylor, a teaching assistant, said: "It was absolutely horrific and traumatic. We don't feel like heroes because anyone would have done the same. We just felt so sorry for her that she was in such a state to do something like that to herself."

PC Charlie Storey, of Northumberland area command, said: "We want to praise the public spirited actions of this couple, who stopped and gave help to this woman who was obviously in a bad way."

Martin Pringle, a paramedic with the Great North Air Ambulance, who treated the woman at the scene, said the couple did exactly the right thing in trying to help her.

"Their actions were extremely brave considering the woman's condition," he said.

"By the time we got to her she was trying to speak but physically couldn't because her lips were so badly burned.

"We were shocked by the state of her but are trained to deal with such incidents."