Paralysed Penny Roberts will be celebrating Easter in her own home - with a little help from her friends.

The pregnant 35-year-old, who became a quadriplegic after a parachute accident, has spent the last two weeks in a residential home while Bradford social services decides on her future care.

But the former nurse has now arranged with a care agency to provide most of the help she needs to stay in her own specially-adapted home in Steeton.

And her friends have rallied round to provide the remaining cover when her carer is asleep.

"I am really pleased to be going home and I'm really grateful that my friends are willing to support me at night," she said.

Penny, who is 14 weeks pregnant, used to have a carer provided by social services at a cost of £500 a week, who would spend part of the day in her home.

But, because she is pregnant, she has stopped taking some of her tablets to control the spasms in her legs and now needs 24-hour attention.

As reported in the T&A on Monday, she went into a residential home for the young disabled in Steeton for a week to give social services time to arrange the additional cover.

But she says she was then told she might have to go into care permanently and she accused the Council of taking the option which would cost them the least amount.

"The social services are not off the hook," she said.

"This solution is just giving them a little more time to sort things out.

"My friends are not going to be able to do this permanently.

"Once I am six months pregnant I won't be able to take the tablets which numb the pain in my legs and I will need someone to sit up with me all night."

Social services have now agreed that Penny should become the first person in the district to try out a new scheme where she is paid the £500 and organises her own care.

Social services assistant director Allison O'Sullivan said: "We are continuing to look at various options for night-time support.

"Our intention is always to support Penny and anyone else who wants to remain in the community.

"If her care needs increase we will have to look with her at what we can do."

Penny became pregnant during an 18-month relationship but the couple mutually decided to split up.

She was parachuting in America in 1995 when her main and emergency chutes became tangled.

She suffered a broken back, neck, pelvis and leg as well as a number of other injuries.

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