A GRATEFUL mum from Bradford has handed more than £4,000 to Yorkshire Air Ambulance as a thank you for saving her life.

Sophie Rayner organised a fundraising event at a pub in Wibsey to raise funds for the charity.

The 28-year-old mum-of-two arranged the evening after being badly injured in an horrific car crash.

Sophie, of Beechwood Road, Wibsey, broke her back in two places, snapped ribs, and had to have part of her bowel removed as a result of the smash.

She spent three weeks in hospital in Hull - three days of that in an induced coma in intensive care.

The fundraiser, held at the Dog and Gun pub on St Enoch’s Road, featured raffles, auctions, food and live music. A total of £4,054.10p was raised for the charity.

“It went really, really well, said Sophie. “It was absolutely packed out - I have never seen the pub so busy.

“We made a really good total. We did not really have a total in mind beforehand, we just thought whatever we get is a bonus.

“I was very happy with what we raised.

“Thank you to everyone who kindly donated, to the businesses that donated things. You all helped make it a success.”

Auctions lots included Manchester United tour tickets, six Bradford City match tickets, a Leeds Rhinos signed shirt, a brand new road bicycle, and a handmade Bradford City shield that sold for £275.

Raffle prizes included vouchers for Bradford restaurants such as Akbar’s, Mumtaz and Mother Hubbard’s.

On the air ambulance, Miss Rayner said: “It is very important. At the end of the day, people need it.

“You don’t realise that, one day, you might well need these people. You don’t know when you could end up in that situation.”

Sophie was a back-seat passenger in a Nissan X-Trail vehicle being driven back to Bradford, after a family break in Bridlington, when the crash happened on May 30 last year.

A pick-up truck crashed into the family’s Nissan after being involved in a collision with a flatbed truck that was emerging from a side road in Octon, East Yorkshire.

An air ambulance landed in a field next to the scene of the collision and took Sophie to Hull Royal Infirmary.

She said previously: “I am very, very grateful. I definitely would not be here without them.

“I would just like to thank the air ambulance for everything they have done for me and my family.”

Sophie’s dad Stephen, 61, was driving. He injured his kneecap and had glass stuck in his hand from the broken windscreen.

Her mum Audrey, 55, broke a toe and suffered a blood clot in her leg.

Sophie’s son Eeisa, five, and daughter Malaika, two, escaped with “scratches”.

Her sister Jade Sheard said: “If it was not for the fast response and dedication of the air ambulance, I doubt that Sophie would have received the immediate medical care that she needed and she would not be with us now.”

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