Cambridge University academic 'fighting for life' after being gored by giant stag Her companions initially thought she had only been knocked down during the attack, which happened in the early hours of Monday morning, but quickly realised her injuries were more serious. An ambulance was called from Mallaig, 15 miles away, and she was taken to the Belford Hospital in Fort William. Doctors there discovered her life-threatening injuries and she was flown by air ambulance for specialist treatment yesterday at the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow. Ms Stone and her friends had earlier been at a ceilidh in the nearby Lochailort Inn, where they met Jim Hunter, 50, a local musician who invited them back to his home. He said: "There was a crowd of seven of us coming from the pub by torchlight. We were coming in to our garden and the stag had got in. The only way out was through the gate we were coming in and he panicked. He came right at us and right through us. We were all having a great time - it was just the most unlucky freak accident ever. There was blood coming from her neck and we took her inside. The paramedics came in about 20 minutes which is good as we are a bit isolated here, and gave her oxygen. They were fantastic. I don't think the animal deliberately attacked her. It was just panicking. But a neighbour of Mr Hunter said: "I am very wary of the stags around here. I do not walk to my house - particularly at night. They do not always run away. They stand there facing up to you, pawing the ground in a threatening manner. The rutting season is over so now they have harems of hinds to jealously guard against other stags. Perhaps this woman was targeted because she was the tallest of the group and perceived by the stag as their leader and the most threatening to it. Ms Stone has a PhD in physics and microelectronics and works as a research engineer at the University of Cambridge's institute of manufacturing. She also set up a technology company, Novalia, which specialises in "making anything that's printed interactive." She was part of a multinational group of three men and four women on a three-day festive break at a local bed-and-breakfast owned by Gary Burton, 51, and his wife Kasia, 35. They had spent three days hill walking and enjoying the scenery. Mr Burton, who runs the Mo-Dhachaidh Guest House, told the Press and Journal: "I understand Kate is critical in the hospital's intensive care unit. She was telling me she enjoyed the outdoors in the hills and camping on her own in remote places so any form of paralysis to such an active person will be a disaster. The incident is absolutely shocking and so unexpected. There are plenty of deer around here but you never hear of a stag attacking anyone. The force of the attack must have been ferocious. I went to the scene and found Kate's mobile phone smashed into tiny bits. He said he and his wife found out about the attack when four of Ms Stone's friends returned to the guesthouse in the early hours of yesterday morning in a "very shocked" state. Peter Fraser, a retired gamekeeper from Aberdeenshire who has worked with deer for more than 40 years, said he had never heard of a similar attack before. He added: "For a stag to come out of the darkness like this and go for someone is highly unusual - a chance in a million." A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said confirmed it received a call at 12.04am yesterday and a woman was involved in the incident. "Apparently a stag ran into her leaving her with neck, chest and arm injuries due to the animal's antlers," he said.