Teen who suffered horrific injuries in crash gets surprise on return home

Alfie Lawton-Keilaus, his sister Madison and PC Bell
PC Bell with Alfie Lawton-Keilaus and his sister Madison. Credit: Wiltshire Police

After spending five weeks in hospital, a Wiltshire teenager was welcomed back home in style thanks to Bath Rugby Club and a police officer from Devizes.

Alfie Lawton-Keilaus sustained serious injuries when he was hit by a van on 18 May.

The 13-year-old had numerous fractures to his face, jaw, leg and foot, and had to be airlifted to hospital where her underwent extensive reconstruction surgery.

The incident was witnessed by his 12-year-old sister Madison, who called the emergency services, explained what happened and where they were before leaving her phone with a bus driver. She then ran home to get her stepdad.

PC Bell was one of the first officers at the scene. He was on his second day as a probationary officer in Devizes.

He said: "We heard Alfie had suffered some pretty awful injuries before we arrived and even though it wasn't as bad as we feared, his foot was facing the wrong way.

"Alfie was wearing his Bath Rugby shirt at the time and when I found out he was going to be in hospital for a while, I wanted to arrange a surprise for him when he got home.

"I arranged for some of the squad to send Alfie some get well messaged and Inspector Pete Sparrow arranged for a goodie bag to be put together."

  • Watch the 'get well' messages from Bath Rugby players: Xav Hastings, Max Ojomoh and Gabe Hamer-Webb

When Alfie got home, PC Bell and BC Bunt from Devizes Community Policing team presented him with a Bath rucksack containing home and away shirts, hats, a flag and an invitation for Alfie and his family to watch a game when he is ready.

Bath director of rugby Stuart Hooper said: “Everyone at Bath Rugby sends our best wishes to Alfie. We are very pleased to see him back in his Bath shirt and look forward to welcoming him at The Rec soon."

Alfie faces a long road to recovery and is currently in a wheelchair with frame to stabilise the bones in his foot.

His mum Gemma Sawers, who is a nurse, said: "I’d like to thank Wiltshire Police and Bath Rugby. We’ve been overwhelmed by their support and generosity. The messages were a real boost to Alfie while he was in hospital and he just couldn’t believe how much stuff they’d given him when he got back home.

“PC Bell and PC Bunt weren’t just police officers on that day, they were much more than that. They stayed with me at the hospital until midnight waiting for news about Alfie which was well past the end of their shift.

“We’ve been through some dark times as a family over the last few weeks but the support and messages that we’ve had have really helped us to get through it."

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