They feared she might never walk again. But just months after the crash which nearly claimed her life, brave Emma Danskin took to the dance floor.

The teenager, who last year was fighting to stay alive, celebrated her 18th birthday by boogying with friends and family.

And a special guest of honour at her party was the man she thanks for saving her life.

Passer-by Tony Guillardine was the first on the scene after the horrific crash when the car Emma was travelling in left the road and ploughed into a field between Otley and Harrogate last November.

And it was his presence of mind and first aid training which Emma and her family firmly believe saved her life.

As she greeted friends at a huge party in Horsforth on Saturday she said: "I cannot say thank you to him enough. If it wasn't for him I would not be here now."

The brave teenager's step-mother Sarah said Mr Guillardine, 37, of Horsforth, had looked after Emma and the others who had been in the car, until the ambulance arrived.

She added: "We feel as though it was him that saved her life. Because he was trained as a first aider he noticed how enlarged her pupils were and he knew it was a serious head injury."

The injured schoolgirl, a pupil at St Mary's, Menston, suffered a blood clot on the brain and almost died a number of times in the weeks after the crash.

Her parents Helen and Adrian, who are separated, were warned that she if she survived she could be left with severe brain damage, unable to walk or talk again.

Medics who battled to keep her alive put her into a drug-induced coma in the immediate aftermath of the accident in order to keep her as still as possible.

And for her family it meant an agonising wait to see how bad her injuries were.

When the drugs were withdrawn she was left paralysed down the whole of her left side, and has had to learn to walk all over again.

From taking her first faltering steps earlier this year she is now able to walk unaided -- and she delighted family and friends by taking to the dance floor for her birthday weekend.

The determined teenager danced at her school prom on Friday after arriving in style in a limousine with her mum and her 16-year-old sister Laura.

And on Saturday she repeated the performance at her 18th birthday party, attended by some of the nurses and physiotherapists who have helped her on the road to recovery.

She said: "I cannot believe I am having my 18th. I have defied all the odds. I am walking independently now - and I know I am getting there."

Emma, who is a patient at Chapel Allerton Hospital, is now allowed home at weekends. But she knows it will be several more months before she is able to return home permanently.

Her mum Helen Crown, 36, a Detective Constable, has applied for planning permission to build a downstairs bedroom and bathroom for Emma at their home in Burley-in-Wharfedale.

And in the meantime she is hoping the daughter she described as an "angel" will be accepted to continue her recuperation at the Daniel Yorath Centre in Garforth.

Helen said the family had pushed the boat out for Emma's special day, which started with champagne and strawberries.

She and her partner Dave splashed out on a laptop to help Emma pursue her dream of becoming a graphic designer.

"It is something we thought we might never see, and she deserves it. We have waited so long for this, and we are just absolutely thrilled."

She said Emma had a fantastic time and she described Mr Guillardine's presence as "the icing on the cake."

She stressed: "He is very modest and doesn't believe he has done anything out of the ordinary."

The first aider himself said: "I wish her a very happy birthday because she really deserves it. She is a lovely person and has never lost her sense of humour."

Her birthday was made even more special for Emma by the fact that she managed to climb the stairs at her father's house in Otley to sleep in her own bed there for the first time since the accident.

And her success meant she could also enjoy a visit on Sunday to her favourite restaurant, which she had previously been unable to visit because of its steps.

Her stepmother Sarah said: "Emma has been saying for weeks that she wanted to go to Pinnochio's in Harrogate.

"On Sunday she was able to go back for the first time."