Alton Towers amputee Leah Washington 'recovering well'
A girl whose leg was amputated after a rollercoaster crash at Alton Towers is recovering well and has stood up for the first time, her brother said.
Leah Washington, 17, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, was one of five people who suffered severe injuries on the Smiler ride on 2 June. Her brother Luke said she had initially been put in intensive care and relied on machines to help her breathe. He said the effects of the crash had "not been easy on the family". 'Dramatically improved' Miss Washington's leg was amputated above the left knee and she also suffered a fractured left hand. Her older brother said her "health and spirits had improved dramatically". "Yesterday, I walked into the room and she was standing up. It was great," Mr Washington told BBC WM 95.6. He said that compared to last week, when Ms Washington was taken to hospital for the first time, "it's a world of difference". "She was heavily sedated. She was in intensive care and the machines were keeping her going," he said. Miss Washington and three other people were on the front row of a carriage on the ride which hit an empty one, trapping 16 passengers for up to four-and-a-half hours. All four on the front row suffered severe leg injuries. Mr Washington said a day after the crash his sister was breathing on her own and had made a "rapid recovery". "Each day has gone by and she's improved and improved. "I don't know where she's got this strength from," he said. One Direction has filmed a video message and offered to meet Miss Washington, who is a big fan. A campaign to persuade the band to contact her attracted thousands of retweets. Mr Washington said the band had given his sister "something to look forward to". "I got to tell Leah and she was over the moon," he said. "There was a smile on her face and that's all we wanted." Miss Washington's friend Sara Stuart, one of those who behind the campaign, said the support from people across the country had been "overwhelming". "It made me so happy that so many people were supporting one of my closest friends," she said. Ms Stuart described her friend as a "total fan" of One Direction and said staff at the Royal Stoke University Hospital had been "amazing" by putting up posters of the band to help her recover. Investigation ongoing Miss Washington's boyfriend Joe Pugh is also at the hospital and being treated for two broken knees and "extensive" hand injuries. Vicky Balch, 20, from Leyland in Lancashire, has undergone surgery at the same hospital and is in a "serious but stable" condition, according to her family. Daniel Thorpe, 27, from Buxton, Derbyshire, was treated at University Hospital Coventry for a collapsed lung and a fractured leg. His condition is described as "stable". Chanda Chauhan, 49, from Wednesbury in the Black Country, who was sitting in the second row of the Smiler, was admitted to Walsall Manor Hospital with internal injuries. A Health and Safety Executive investigation into the crash is continuing. Alton Towers reopened to visitors on Monday, although the Smiler ride itself remains closed. Merlin Entertainments Group, which owns the theme park, said it was the first accident in the company's history and said anyone injured would be compensated.