Friends strip off for charity calendar in aid of Trowbridge accident victim (From Wiltshire Times)

Friends strip off for charity calendar in aid of Trowbridge accident victim

9:21am Friday 2nd November 2012 in Latest News By Adam Care

Friends of an accident victim from Hilperton are stripping off for a calendar to raise funds for her recovery.

Gemma Holmes, 25, was airlifted to hospital in September after her motor scooter collided with a parked car on the A350 at Chalford near Westbury.

She suffered major head and neck injuries and, after waking from a coma and undergoing extensive physiotherapy, faces a long road to recovery.

Her friend Jaz McLellan, 22, came up with the idea of printing a calendar featuring her friends and family, to help her get back on her feet. She said: “The calendar idea started off as a joke, but it’s raised quite a bit of money.

“She’s going to need a lot of specialised equipment, like wheelchairs and bathroom access, and we wanted to make things a bit more personal for her when she gets out of hospital.”

Half of the money raised will be donated to Wiltshire Air Ambulance, which flew Gemma to Frenchay Hospital after the crash.

The calendar, called Gert Lush in Wiltshire, includes pictures of Gemma’s friends taken in locations she knows around the county, including Longleat Safari Park and the Three Horseshoes pub in Bradford on Avon. Jaz, who has known Gemma for seven years, is organising the calendar with her sister Tabitha, who arranged sponsorship for each of the 12 pages from local businesses.

She said: “We’ve got about 39 people in the calendar, boys and girls, young and old. Some of the photos are going to be naked but all the bits will be covered.

“We wanted to keep that funky vibe to show all that Wiltshire has to offer, but still keep it professional for the businesses.”
The calendar will be sold on eBay and at shops and businesses in Trowbridge.

Jaz said: “It’s something for her in years to come to sit back and look to see what her friends did for her. She definitely owes us after standing out in the cold for the pictures.

“She touched so many hearts and it’s heartbreaking seeing her in hospital.

“She’s done really well to get to the point where she’s up and talking again, and in the next couple of years we will have a definite idea of how she will be doing for the rest of her life, but the way she’s going right now the future looks bright.”

The calendars will go on sale in December for £10 each. For more information, email by clicking here