Girl has no recollection of freak crash in Turkey but tells ITV News 'I dreamed I was paragliding'

ITV Tyne Tees reporter Katie Cole has been speaking to Lily Nichol at her hospital bedside in Turkey

A girl left seriously injured in hospital after being struck by a paraglider while eating at a beach-front restaurant on holiday in Turkey says she is okay but just wants to come home.

Speaking from her hospital bed in Turkey, Lily Nichol told ITV Tyne Tees she had no recollection of the crash on Friday last week, adding: "I think I dreamed I was paragliding."

The 15-year-old, from Chester-le-Street, was with her mum and sister on the last day of their trip to the resort of Oludeniz when a paraglider crashed into her.

She suffered four breaks in her spine, a punctured lung, a broken jaw and fractured collar bone among other injuries.

Now in a hospital in Antalya, she said she remembered nothing of the impact as she thanked those who have supported her and her family.

"I just remember being in the restaurant and then waking up," she said. "I've had lots of messages from people from school, some don't even know that well."

Mobile phone footage captured the immediate aftermath of the crash

Lily had been in the resort for a week on a holiday which was a Christmas gift from her sister Meggan Nichol.

The trio were due to fly back to Newcastle at 7:30pm on Friday (8 November) and were enjoying a pizza in a restaurant for lunch when Lily was hit.

Her mother, Lyndsey Logan, said she initially thought her daughter was dead as she struggles to come to terms with what has happened.

"You never realise you would ever go through this with your children, it's killed me," she said.

Describing the moment of the collision, Lyndsey said it was all a "blur" at first.

"It just happened," she explained. "I couldn't move her. I was shouting for help and then they eventually pulled her round and, her face, I thought she was dead.

"She wasn't breathing, she wasn't responding. Then she kind of came round and she was trying to grip my hand but she was unconscious for a while.

"She didn't know no more until I was standing in the hospital, I was crying over her and she looked at me and she was thinking why you crying?"

Lyndesy's other daughter, Meggan, was also hit when the paraglider crashed into the restaurant.

The 19-year-old told ITV Tyne Tees: "I came around in a few seconds really, it wasn't too long. Everyone was saying 'what's happened? what's just fell out the air?'

"I started screaming. The way she was lying there and everyone was saying 'Lily, Lily, wake up' and she just wasn't."

Meggan said she was focusing on her sister's recovery as she battles through the pain of seeing her sister so badly injured.

"The second she starts crying, and she's in agony and pain and stuff, it breaks my heart," she continued. "It's not even just seeing her, it's seeing me mam go through it as well.

"Like she's holding it together so good but the second she's alone or Lily starts crying and then she starts crying I'm just sat here like, I wish I could do something."

Lily cannot leave the hospital she is in in Antalya until she has had an operation on her spine, which is broken in four places.

The family did not have holiday insurance so are having to find the money for medical bills. Almost £50,000 has been donated to an online fundraiser.

While Meggan is set to return to the UK with her and Lily's father, Lyndsey looks set to be by her daughter's side during her initial treatment and recovery for up to six weeks.

Meanwhile, it is understood the paraglider, who was doing a solo dive, was from Russia and has since left the country. Police are investigating.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...