Paralysed Amanda marks accident anniversary with skydive

Amanda Worne described the feeling as exhilarating

But Amanda Worne isn't most people.

Exactly 365 days after her horrific crash at the bottom of Bury Hill, the Yapton mum-of-four decided to embrace the occasion in her own unique way.

On Tuesday Amanda, her eldest daughter Meg and close friend Kerry Stafford took part in a tandem skydive, plunging themselves out of a plane 13,000ft above the ground.

Amanda with her daughter Meg (right) and friend Kerry, who did the skydive with her

Speaking to the Observer afterwards, Amanda said: "I didn't want the day of my first year anniversary to be spent thinking back to the fated day.

"What better distraction therefore than to jump out of a plane two and a half miles up travelling at 120mph.

"Sitting on the edge of the plane with the earth below me was the best feeling ever.

"Up there no one uses their legs, you fly. I was literally on top of the world.

"Free falling was exhilarating. Such an adrenaline rush. Bitter cold wind rushing past you.

"I was screaming but it was drowned out by the noise of the whistling wind."

Amanda said she had a fairly shaking landing as she struggled to pull up her legs, and took several hours back on land before she stopped feeling 'sick and wobbly'.

"I'm so, so proud I did it as I am more of a risk than an able bodied person but also because of that I don't want to push my luck and do it again," she said.

"It was just an amazing one off experience to tick off the bucket list."

It was a far happier day than exactly 12 months before when Amanda's back break failed and she sped down Bury Hill, crashing into a road sign at the bottom.

She spent six months recovering in Stoke Mandeville Hospital before being allowed home in January.

Amanda says she often feels like a prisoner in her own home, and with no funding available to convert it for wheelchair use, she is carrying out her own fundraising.

The skydive was to raise money for her own wet room to be installed, which would allow her to wash unassisted, rather than rely on a family member for help.

To help Amanda raise the money, go to https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/amanda-worne-1