Teenager in horror horse accident calls for surgeon to be knighted

Emily Eccles, 15, has written to the Queen asking for a knighthood for the surgeon who treated her after she was left with just one centimetre of skin keeping her jaw attached to the rest of her head.

The teenager who suffered some of the worst facial injuries her doctors have seen outside a war zone following a horrific horse riding accident has said she can't thank those who helped her enough.

Emily was taken to Sheffield Children’s Hospital after finding herself on the floor, holding what remained of the bottom of her face in her hands.

But consultant facial reconstructive surgeon Ricardo Mohammed-Ali rebuilt her face in a five-and-a-half hour long operation which was such a success, the teenager was back at school for the start of term, just a month after the accident.

Now, two months on, she is seeing her scars fade by the day and hoping to persuade her parents to let her ride again.

Her surgeon said he was "extremely pleased as to how she has progressed," just a few weeks on from her surgery.

Emily lives in a village just outside Sheffield with her teacher parents Michelle, 50, and Chris, 48, brother Sam, 17, and their two dogs.

She said she wanted to get back in the saddle but "it’s my parents I have to convince”.

Mum Michelle said she was “still thinking about it”.

The family said they are determined to support The Children’s Hospital Charity’s fundraising to help improve the Emergency Department and provide a helipad above the hospital.

The air ambulance was called to Emily’s accident but it was decided to go by road, partly because the helicopter currently has to land in a park opposite the building, her family said.