Family's delight as car accident girl, 14, emerges from coma

Fourteen-year-old Ellie Vardy was left fighting for her life after the Ford Fiesta in which she was travelling collided with a taxi near her home.

She suffered a broken neck, internal injuries and several broken bones in the smash on September 29 and her parents Paul and Nicola feared the worst.

They kept a bedside vigil at Sheffield Children's Hospital and were there when Ellie slowly opened her eyes last week.

"We were absolutely stunned although it was what we were praying for," said father Paul, 38. "Even before she woke up she calmer and different and then she said those words.

"She is having to wear a neck brace but she is now able to sit up and we have been able to take her off the ward in a wheelchair."

He added: "It's difficult to put into words how we feel. To be told that your daughter could die and then for this to happen after eight weeks, we just can't believe it."

Ellie's family are now hoping she will be able to return to the family home in Eckington, near Sheffield, for a few hours on Christmas Day.

They are now raising money to buy a state-of -the-art "cooling blanket" costing nearly 10,000 for the hospital's high dependency unit.

Her plight led to thousands of people joining a Facebook site to support Ellie and her family as she recovered.

Her family also joined campaigners in urging drivers to slow down as part of National Road Safety Week.

They said Ellie's injuries showed the horrific impact a car crash can have on a child.

They said: "The collision Ellie suffered has shattered our lives and we are all desperate for her to make a full recovery and rejoin our family."