Horse crush girl’s amazing charity feat

It was touch and go as to whether Alice, from Hornby, would pull through – she suffered a ruptured diaphragm, broke her pelvis in three places, broke her collarbone, arm and ribs, and had a torn stomach, kidney and liver damage and a badly bruised bowel and lung.

But five years on the 19-year-old has pretty much made a full recovery and last week she took part in the Great Scottish Swim in aid of the Lancaster charity that helped her back to full health.

Along with her mum Rose, Alice, who is starting university this year, swam a mile in Lock Lomond to raise money for Bay Aqua Therapy.

She said: “I’ve been swimming two or three times a week since the accident.

I’ve got some ligament damage around my pelvis so if I don’t keep up the physio I’m in a lot of pain.

“I went to Bay Aqua Therapy for about a year after the accident. It was amazing and helped me to recover a lot faster, and it was lovely being in a pool as I could do much more.

“It made a huge difference as I was able to build up my core strength after I lost about a stone in weight from lying in bed.”

It was on September 11 2010 that the teenager went to drop off a horse trailer at a farm, in preparation for a show.

The horse managed to escape and attempted to run out of the yard, so Alice put her arms around his neck to stop him fleeing.

However, the horse was suddenly startled and bolted dragging Alice along with him.

The horse ran into the main road and straight into the path of a Range Rover, and after being struck by the vehicle, he landed on Alice crushing her with his 1,500lb weight.

Amazingly, Alice returned to horseriding just a few months later. She said: “It definitely worked for me, and my parents were supportive although they weren’t 100 per cent happy about it!”

Alice came19th in the 18/19 year-old category for the one-mile swim on August 29 and was the the ninth woman across the finish line.

She said she now plans to do more open water swims in the future, and will be studying Clinical Sciences at Bradford University in the autumn.

Alice has raised around £300 so far for Bay Aqua Therapy. The charity is part of Morecambe Bay Hospitals but relies on donations and the voluntary work of physiotherapists and their assistants. It is based at the Loyne School in Lancaster. Alice’s mum Rose is raising money for North West Air Ambulance which helped to save alice’s life.

To sponsor Alice, visit www.justgiving.com/Alice-Roberts9. To sponsor Rose, visit www.justgiving.com/Rose-Roberts2