A WOMAN from Hawkshead is learning to walk again after a horror Lake District car crash - and has praised the emergency services who rescued her.

Sophie Court, 24, was severely injured in the accident on May 11 last year when here car aquaplaned and smashed into a tree on the A66 as she was driving towards Penrith on her way to work.

The crash left her with a broken left tibia, displaced right femur and a tailbone injury, which saw her undergo an operation. 

Describing the incident, Sophie said: "I was trapped for two hours. They (emergency services) had to break the back window and take the roof off to free me.

"It was a complicated procedure because my foot had gone through the floor. I wanted to get out because I thought the car might blow up."

Miss Court described how she lost control of the car when she was forced to brake suddenly, hitting a puddle of water in the process.

This caused her to career across the carriageway into the central reservation which rebounded her into a tree.

The right hand side of the car and front bumper were badly damaged by the impact.

The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) arrived at the scene, and then took her to the Royal Victoria Infirmary, in Newcastle, where she stayed for two weeks. 

She was then transferred and spent four days at the Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle.

Since then, Miss Court has spent nine months learning to walk again, and this week she walked for the first time without sticks to aid her.

Miss Court added: "GNAAS are amazing. With the location of Cumbria and vast mountains, they do a great job.

"If it wasn't for these people maybe I wouldn't be where I am today so it's a massive thing."