DRIVING to work on a cold winter’s day, Alice Berry’s life changed forever.

Her car hit black ice and collided head on with another vehicle, resulting in her suffering life-threatening injuries.

Alice, 27, who at the time was living in Cirencester, was on her way to work in Sherston when the collision occurred at Westonbirt on January 8, 2016.

She was trapped in her car and firefighters cut her free. She was treated by Wiltshire Air Ambulance critical care paramedics at the scene before being airlifted to Southmead Hospital, Bristol, within ten minutes.

Alice broke her hip, pelvis, wrist and both legs above and below the knees. Her injuries were so serious that she was warned that she might not walk again and her right leg might have to be amputated.

However, after a ten-hour operation to reconstruct her broken bones with metal plates and pins and more than 18 months of physiotherapy, Alice’s life is back on track.

She is living in London with three friends and has started a new job as a personal assistant for a travel and PR company in Covent Garden.

She is back walking, swimming and even managed to run on the treadmill at her gym recently.

Alice said: “Before my accident I used to be sporty, running, playing hockey and swimming, so being able to run again, there are no words – just bursts of adrenaline!”

Alice visited Wiltshire Air Ambulance’s current airbase in Devizes and met George Lawrence, the pilot who flew her to hospital, and staff in the charity team. She is also fundraising for the charity and has an online donation page http://www.justgiving.co.uk/alice-berry5

She said: “It was emotional to meet the Wiltshire Air Ambulance team. I was very lucky to have been rescued by such an amazing team – they saved my life. I’m fundraising for them because it is such a great charity and they rely on donations. One day you might need to use them, as I found out the hard way.”

Alice has written a blog – www.breakingbones.org – about her accident and recovery.

“What happened to me was a difficult time in my life, but I chose to accept what had happened the moment it happened and to do all that I could to help myself get better. I have tackled personal struggles and hurdles and feel I will continue to do so. I hope that blogging about my experience will help and support others who have suffered a similar trauma,” she said.