A GRANDMOTHER from South Cerney, who survived a horrific car accident, has personally thanked the heroic air ambulance crew responsible for saving her life.

Daphne Norman, along with her daughter Susan Hartshorne, visited the Great Western Air Ambulance base in Bristol to meet the team that airlifted her to hospital and to hand over a cheque for £3,000.

Mrs Norman, who was involved in a near fatal head-on collision in March 2012, said meeting the crew was the one thing she had wanted to do.

“It was lovely to meet them. I really wanted to personally say thank you to them for saving my life. I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for them,” she said.

Her daughter Susan raised £3,000 for the team by taking part in a charity skydive, that also commemorated the birthday of her son, Max Hartshorne, who was killed in a suspected hit-and-run accident nearly two years ago.

Susan said: “The Great Western Air Ambulance do so much good, they are out there saving people’s lives.

“It felt good to be able to do something that Max would have been proud of but also something that raised money for this good cause.”

Susan completed the 12,000ft skydive last summer on what would have been her son’s 25th birthday.

She said: “As a parent that has lost a child, you live with so much pain every day. I’ve gone through the worst thing you can ever experience, so jumping out of an aeroplane didn’t worry me.”