Over £30,000 raised for charity and ward that helped crash teen

More than £30,000 was raised at a ball for a charity and a hospital ward which have helped a teenager who was seriously hurt in a car crash.

Victoria Lyon, 15, of Brant Broughton, suffered multiple fractures to her skull and spent more than eight weeks at the Queen's Medical Centre (QMC), Nottingham, after the collision in November 2015.

Last year she spent time at Tadworth Court, Surrey, a rehabilitation centre run by the Children's Trust, the UK's leading charity for children with brain injuries.

Her mother Mrs Judith Lyon said Victoria was doing very well and is now back at school studying for her GCSEs.

The ball was organised as a way "to put something back" to the places that have been crucial in helping Victoria since the crash. The money raised will go to the Paediatric Neuroscience Ward E40 at QMC and the Children's Trust.

A special note of thanks was written by Victoria for guests at the ball. In it she said she hoped that the charities that have helped her can help others, too.

"I hope they can work wonders on others and be able to teach them the sky's the limit and they can do anything no matter what's happened," she said.

"They need the belief that anything is possible. That's what got me through and of course everyone around me from family and friends to nurses and carers. They're all great."

The event was held at Jocasta's Lincoln with music provided by Crazy Ape. Auctioneer Paul Gentry held an auction during the evening when the lots included a winter week for ten at a Swiss-style chalet in France, a summer week in a Mallorca villa and a River Trent luxury river cruise.

Mrs Lyon said the event was such a success they are planning to hold it again in three years' time to celebrate Victoria's 18th birthday and in six years' time to celebrate her 21st.