Ross Parry
A schoolgirl was blinded just days before her 16th birthday when a car airbag exploded in her face.
Kelly Green was a passenger in her dad Geoff's BMW when it hit a pothole and overturned on to its roof in heavy rain. The safety-device inflated, but instead of cushioning Kelly from injury, it left her totally blind in one eye, and partially sighted in the other.
The teenager has undergone five operations, and spent two weeks in hospital following the crash. She and her sister Katie are now fund raising to buy the specialist equipment she so desperately needs.
Speaking to reporters from her home in Eckington, Derbyshire, brave Kelly said she could remember the car hitting something, then somebody opening the door, holding her head and asking her if she was OK.
"When I came round in hospital, I tried to open my eyes but they were stitched together. I was upset when I was told I'd lost my sight," she said, "But I just want people to know I haven't changed. I'm still the same girl and I'm not going to give up."
Her mum, Bev, 49 said the accident had turned the family upside down but that Kelly's 'positive attitude' kept them all going.
Her 47-year-old postman dad said he was 'so proud of her' and that he was amazed they had survived the crash at all.
BMW said in a statement that they would co-operate with any investigation into the airbag's safety, and were 'saddened' to hear of Kelly's injury.
Kelly meanwhile is making plans for her future and hopes to continue with her education: "Some things are a bit harder but I'm getting used to using my cane now," she said, "I am hoping to go to college and then do a massage course because it's something I can do with my hands."
What a brave girl - we wish her well with her fund-raising and college course.