Girl told she'd never walk again after bouncy castle accident

A woman told she would never walk again after a bouncy castle accident has become a beauty queen after being determined to prove her doctors wrong.

Charlotte Grant broke her back in a bouncy castle accident when she was just 10. She lost all feeling in her legs and had to use a wheelchair after doctors found a large haematoma on her spine.

Despite being told by specialists at Alder Hey Children's Hospital it was unlikely she would ever walk again, Charlotte was determined to prove them wrong. After two years of intense physiotherapy, she was able to walk again.

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Now, Charlotte, from Kirkby, has been crowned Miss Liverpool and will compete in the Miss England finals next month. The cosmetics business owner and part-time model said: "It's been quite a journey - going from not being able to walk to doing a catwalk, a runway in front of people. It just goes to shows that with hard work and determination from a young age you can do and achieve so much."

Charlotte was on holiday in Dumfries, Scotland, when she was flung off the end of a bouncy castle after someone else jumped on it. She had to miss a year of school as she fought to regain her mobility, with a blood clot on her spine leaving her without feeling in her legs.

The now 24-year-old said: "I was on a farm where they have activities and bouncy castles. It's literally like a kids' play area. I'd finished bouncing and was walking off the edge and somebody bounced down and I went flying off it.

"It had concrete around it with a little something sprinkled over it. I basically landed flat on concrete. They took me straight to the hospital and they knew I'd broken my back. I was obviously petrified. They didn't pick up a big blood clot on my spinal cord. I got transported from Scotland to Liverpool and that's when they found it was bad."

Charlotte said the blood clot compressed her spinal cord so signals from her brain weren't getting through to her legs. She continued: "I was discharged from hospital in a wheelchair and they basically said we don't think she'd be able to walk. I was adamant that I wanted to walk."

It required long and intense daily physiotherapy which Charlotte said was "scary" but said she was "just a determined ten-year-old". Incredibly, Charlotte is now not only walking but also enjoys acrobatics, trampolining and running.

She said: "I just want to show people you can achieve anything. I went into Miss Liverpool with no experience, I hadn't done any pageants before. I bumped into the organiser and she asked if I'd done pageants before.

"I signed up and ended up winning it. It was very much a Sliding Doors moment. I prefer the modern day pageants. They used to be all about outer beauty, but now it's 50% your outer self and 50% inner self.

"I was just myself. I know a lot of the girls spent a lot of money on their outfits. I had no outfits - I had to squeeze into my school prom dress. I was rummaging around the loft. I felt awful as these girls had made all these amazing outfits. I'm in the charity shops around Kirby looking for something to wear for the sports round."

Charlotte said that she "can't wait" for the Miss England final, sponsored by Watermans Hair. She said: "I just want to get my message across. You don't have to be this stereotypical, blonde hair and blue eyes to win.

"It's more your inner beauty and if you have a passion about something. I have a good drive and I feel like I can achieve anything."

Charlotte will be putting Liverpool on the map at the Miss England final. This is set to take place on May 16-17 at the Grand Station in Wolverhampton.

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