Pregnant woman in car explosion ‘road to recovery’

RELATIVES of a pregnant woman seriously injured in a car explosion in a quiet village said yesterday she had started her “long road to recovery”.

Victoria Fabian, 32, was transferred to a London hospital for specialist treatment after suffering terrible leg injuries in the explosion in a communal car park.

Hours after the blast, police arrested her husband Nicholas Fabian, also 32 and a former bomb disposal expert who was expected to be posted to Afghanistan shortly.

Doctors believe her unborn child escaped unharmed from the blast just after 1pm last Friday in the village of Vigo, near Meopham, Kent.

Her eight-year-old son, who was also in the car at the time, was taken to hospital as a precaution but released after being kept in for observation.

In a statement issued through Kent Police, Mrs Fabian’s family said: “The family is deeply saddened and shocked by Friday’s incident and the sequence of events as they unfold. At the moment all our energy and attention is focussed on supporting Vicky and her children.

Detectives continue to question her husband after being given a second time extension and he could be held until late last night before either being charged or released.

His mother Kathleen Mitchell-Hewson told reporters he was due to be sent to Afghanistan shortly as a reservist, having left the Army in 2003.

Villagers described hearing a massive explosion before smoke could be seen rising above the car park.

One witness said Mrs Fabian’s legs had been “shredded” by the explosion, while others spoke of hearing a loud boom throughout the village.

Resident Vincent Redman, 17, told reporters: “I went out with my mum and her partner and she was in the driver’s seat screaming.

“Her legs were shredded – one was badly burnt and the other was all bloodied.” Police and the Ministry of Defence have not commented on Mr Fabian’s Army links.