Broken O/S front spring help

[Fred Byrne]

I broke a front spring in one of our numerous potholes. I thought this might be straightforward but it isn't. The spring broke and the main part escaped out of the spring protector. See pic. It seems to me that the broken spring is forcing the hub outward and it won't allow the lower ball joint to come out of the hub. The second picture shows that I have almost got the spigot out of the hub but can't get it any further. I have spent the morning with lump hammers and various levers and of course I lent my prying bar to someone whose identity I cannot recall. I am considering undoing the three bolts inside the engine compartment to allow the strut to move but fear that I might just end up worse off. The other possibility is to undo the lower suspension arm ball joint that is at the right anle bend in the arm. The lower suspension arm is only a few hundred miles old so I don't want to lose it.

Fred