A 23-year-old woman survived being impaled through the neck on a spiked railing, authorities said.

Kirsty Scott slipped on ice outside her flat in Perth, Scotland, and was speared through the chin by a five-inch spike.

It took firefighters half an hour to cut through the railing with a hacksaw before she was taken to Ninewalls Hospital in Dundee, where she is expected to make a full recovery.

Scott was with her partner when she slipped and remained conscious throughout the rescue.

She was "very lucky" to survive the accident, Perth fire and rescue station manager Neil Scott said.

"She was very fortunate that the spike embedded without hitting any of her bones. She stayed calm throughout, but afterwards she became quite distraught," he said.

"I think she was just in shock. It must have been a very traumatic experience for her."