THE family of a north Lancashire teenager who was crushed by a horse will celebrate her recovery with a fundraising church service.

Alice Roberts, 14, is still undergoing daily physiotherapy for injuries she sustained in September but is hoping to be back in the saddle soon.

Police said that Alice was grooming a friend’s horse at Rye Close Farm, Claughton, when something spooked the horse. As it bolted, Alice clung on to the horse’s mane, but it was struck by a passing Range Rover and fell on to the teenager.

Alice suffered serious internal injuries, a broken arm and crush injuries to one leg and her upper body.

The stallion was badly injured and had to be destroyed at the scene.

Alice was taken by North West Air Ambulance to the Royal Preston Hospital and later transferred to the paediatric intensive care unit at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, where she underwent 12 hours of surgery.

To mark Alice’s ongoing recovery her family has organised a ‘Celebration and Thanks’ service.

The service will be held at St Margaret’s Church, Hornby, on Saturday, January 15, at 2pm.

Everyone who knows the family is welcome, and a retiring collection will be split between the North West Air Ambulance Service and the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital’s Critical Care Fund.

Alice, who has ridden horses since she was eight, is now attending Lancaster Girls’ Grammar School part-time. She is delighted to be on the mend and cannot wait to get back riding.

She said: “I’m really enjoying being back at school with my friends and I really want to get back riding again.

“The work I’m doing is hard as I lost all the muscle in my leg, so I’m doing daily physiotherapy routines.

“I’m not allowed to ride yet, but I have sat on a pony, so I’m hoping it won’t be long before I can ride properly again.”

The week before the accident, Alice’s brother William, 19, had been due to raise funds for the North West Air Ambulance Service in the Great North Swim, which was cancelled. Instead he and mum Rose – who had hoped to swim to raise funds for the local Alzheimer’s Disease Society – climbed Scafell instead.

William is now planning to raise money by doing a sponsored trek along the famous Inca Trail in South America.

To donate money email Rose at roseroberts@hornby40.f2s.com