Broughton Moor toddler Ava Pearson has met some of the heroes who saved her life.

Ava, three, barely survived a horrific car accident which left her and her father Adam, 23, fighting for their lives.

The car he was driving collided with a United Utilities tanker near Cockermouth in September.

Adam and Ava's mother, Amy Houghton, who is 23 today, believe that they owe their recovery to the quick work of the Great North Air Ambulance and the medical staff at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.

Last week, Ava had the chance to meet the air ambulance crew who saved her life and to see the helicopter in which she was flown to hospital.

The little girl, then two, suffered a fractured and broken left leg, a buckle fracture to her wrist and torn ligaments to her neck and spine.

The left side of her skull was removed to deal with brain injuries.

Amy, of Wilson Terrace, said the damage to her brain was in the area that controls functions including speech.

She said: "She will be checked until she is 25, when the brain is fully developed, but she is really progressing well. She seems absolutely fine."

Meanwhile Adam,has returned to work as a trainee buyer for Ashcroft Plant in Dearham for the first time since the accident which happened in Cockermouth in September.

He said: "I would question whether I am fully recovered but I am getting there."

Adam also sustained a brain injury which has left him with memory problems.

"I came back to work because I hated sitting at home all the time. I am improving," he said.

Asked about the extent of his injuries, he replied: "You would have to ask someone else. For half the time I didn't know what was happening."

Amy is raising money for the hospital and the Great North Air Ambulance and has organised a charity night in Maryport's Grasslot Welfare Club next Saturday, April 2, which will feature a raffle and live music from Maryport band Collision. 

It is almost sold out. For more information, call Amy on 07789695134.