Alton Towers crash victim Vicky Balch learns to walk again and tells of her "relief" at leg amputation

Recovery: Vicky has been receiving help from physios as she learns to walk again 

The 20-year-old had her right leg amputated above the knee as a result of the horrific theme park smash

Alton Towers crash victim Vicky Balch has spoken of her battle to learn to walk again - as she reveals she felt "relief" when her leg was amputated.

The 20-year-old was at the front of a The Smiler rollercoaster when it malfunctioned and sent one carriage smashing into another.
Five people, including Vicky, were left seriously injured and trapped 25ft in the air.

irefighters had to carry out a careful operation to free the victims and transfer them to hospital on June 2.
Three months later, it has emerged Vicky needed at least six rounds of surgery in a bid to save her leg.
But an infection complicated matters and in the end her amputation was extended above the knee.
Vicky said she was in so much pain, the amputation was "like a burden had been taken away".
"The leg was so painful that I couldn't do anything with it," she told the BBC.

 

Pain: Having her leg amputated was a "relief" after so many surgeries

The University of Derby student has been recovering at Specialist Mobility Rehabilitation Centre in Preston.
Speaking of learning to walk again, she said: "I didn’t think it would be that hard. I was shaking.
"I'd just forgotten how to use my legs."
Four victims of the Alton Towers rollercoaster crash were recently pictured together for the first time since the devastating incident.

 

Survivors: (left to right) Daniel Thorpe, Leah Washington, Chief Fire Officer Peter Dartford, Joe Pugh and Vicky Balch

Leah Washington, 18, and her boyfriend Joe Pugh, 18, were joined by Vicky Balch and her partner 28-year-old Daniel Thorpe at a ceremony to honour firefighters who help rescue them.
Leah and Vicky were both forced to undergo leg amputations following the crash while Joe and Daniel also suffered serious leg inuries.
Alton Towers was closed for five days in the aftermath and lawyers have said the four serious injured victims could receive millions of pounds in compensation.

 

The theme park has denied The Smiler ride will re-open in the 'near future' despite empty test cars having been seen operating on the ride recently.
Merlin, which also runs a string of top tourist attractions, said full year profits in its theme park arm, which includes Alton Towers and five others, would be between £40 million and £50 million, compared with £87million last year.
Bosses admitted next year’s profits could be hit as well.
Merlin chief executive Nick Varney said: “It took the momentum out of our season just at the time they should have been on full throttle heading into the summer holidays.”
The park is reckoned to normally attract between two million and 2.5 million visitors a year.