Scots tourist mauled by bear in Romania 'saved by M&S coat'

A Scots tourist was rushed to hospital after being mauled by a bear through a car window in Romania.

Moira Gallacher, from West Lothian, had a lucky escape after a brown bear latched onto her hand while she tried to take a selfie with the wild animal.

The 72-year-old was on a trip with friend Charmian Widdowson, who previously lived and worked in the Eastern European country.

The pair headed off on the Transfagarasan, an incredible scenic route that cuts through the Carpathian Mountains, which is also home to thousands of bears.

And after spotting the bears, Moira was keen to get an up close picture of the magnificent animals in the wild before, being pounced on.

Moira told Romania newspaper, Observator News: "I come from Scotland,” before adding: “My arm is sore.”

She said: “We were in the car and we were going to take a picture. And the bear came up to the window.”

Moira's friend Charmian has joked how the hungry bears thought they could have Moira as lunch.

Charmian told STV News: “We saw these bears – a mummy bear, and a baby – they were gorgeous.

"The mummy bear was hungry, and thought my friend was going to be lunch."

Moira was rushed to a local hospital by ambulance to treatment of wounds on her right hand.

And she believes her arm was saved from the jaws of the wild bear thanks to a padded Marks & Spencers jacket, with her friend saying the bear got "more jacket than arm".

She said: "I’m a very lucky woman, I was wearing a padded jacket and a top and another top – that’s what saved my arm. I’ve been very, very lucky.

“The shock has set in today, but everything’s okay now.”

Charmian explained how the pair were walking through Transfagarasan when they saw only the bear, without the mother and the little one.

She added: “I tried to take a picture through the window, but it didn’t turn out well. We were going a little bit further and it was a place where we could turn the car around.

“I turned the car around and got off. And they were there, and I said, there’s no curve here, let’s stop and take a picture. So I went down the window to take a good picture. I thought he wanted to be friends.”

“The bear came and wanted to get into the car, but he started getting into the car and bit my friend.”

Charmian believes the bear overheard the Moira talking about getting food.

She added: “My friend said, let’s get something to eat.

“No, you are not allowed to give food. Absolutely nothing, nothing, nothing.

“And I think he heard it and decided he had to eat my friend instead.”

Andreea Gheordunescu, manager of the Curtea de Argeș Municipal Hospital said: “At the Curtea de Argeș Municipal Hospital, a foreign patient presented with wounds on her right hand, wounds caused by a bear bite.”

European brown bears, who reside in Romania, can weigh up to 350kg and scale just over 7ft (2.2m).

The huge beasts can also ran at speeds of 30mph and are also avid climbers.

There are believed to be 6,000 bears roaming the Carpathian Mountains.

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