AN INSPIRING Melksham teenager has said she is overwhelmed by the support of her friends and family who have started a fundraiser after she was left paralysed in a car crash.

The accident happened as Chloe Orr, 19 of Halifax Road, Bowerhill, was turning on a bend near Brassknocker Hill in Bath and smashed into a tree in the early hours of July 4.

As a result, she suffered 19 broken ribs, two punctured lungs and was paralysed from the waist down and remains in Southmead Hospital in Bristol. But despite her life-changing injuries, the teenager has remained in positive spirits.

“The whole thing has been pretty crazy since it happened and the damage means that I won’t be able to walk ever again,” said Miss Orr.

“It hasn’t brought me down or bothered me because I know I will be able to live my life and I think that is what everyone is surprised at - how I’m taking it.

“I think of it as me having to look at the situation in a positive way because there is nothing you can do about it other than carry on.

“It was scary but I am feeling a lot better because my lungs are on the mend and I am waiting for my ribs to heal properly but that is going to take a few weeks yet. “

In the weeks following the crash, Miss Orr’s friends and family have rallied together to kick start a fundraising campaign to help pay for the vital equipment that she will need once she is able to come home including a specially-designed wheelchair.

Rebecca Bracey, a friend and work colleague of Miss Orr at Pets at Home in Trowbridge, started the fundraiser. She said: “Chloe is my inspiration and she puts everything into perspective. If Chloe can deal with what she is going through then it makes you think that you can do the same.

“She has grown from the girl who liked to party with her friends to being the girl who can cope with something like this when most people would just crumble.”

Miss Orr had been studying at Wiltshire College in health and social care and animal care.

“I’ve always wanted to help disabled children in my work so it seems ironic that I’m now the one with less mobility,” she added.

The GoFundMe page has raised more than £500 in just two days – something which Miss Orr’s mum Claire never expected.

“It was my worst nightmare and it has not been easy. Chloe has been so positive and she has helped me stay strong,” she said.

“I was asleep when it happened and I just remember it was in the middle of the night and I got a knock on the front door. That was pretty horrible seeing the police and you think the worst but the officers have been brilliant.

“People who I don’t even know or haven’t spoken to in ages have got in contact with me to say if we need anything they will help – it’s just been amazing.”

Miss Orr has to spend six weeks at Southmead Hospital in order for her ribs to heal and after this she will be transferred to a spinal unit at Salisbury Hospital who will help with her rehab.

Miss Orr said: “It is absolutely incredible what is being done and it has really shocked me at how amazing everyone is being in trying to help me with this because I need it.”

To donate, visit www.gofundme.com/Chloe-s_Collection.