The father of a girl who survived a car crash which killed two of her school friends has spoken of his hopes of getting his daughter home for Christmas.

Craig Cooper, the father of 14-year-old Vicky Cooper, spoke to the Evening Press yesterday, five weeks to the day after the accident.

The crash, which happened on the afternoon of October 30, claimed the lives of Vicky's school pals, Becki Atkinson, 15, and Tom Leng, 17, both of Thornton-le-Dale.

Vicky and another school friend, Andrew Tock, who were passengers in the car, both survived and were taken to York District Hospital with serious injuries.

Mr Cooper said: "I was absolutely horrified when I learned Victoria had been involved in a serious road crash.

"We knew she had survived, but she was in a coma for ten days and we didn't know whether she would have brain damage; the doctors told us they wouldn't know until she woke up. The waiting was horrible.

"When she finally woke up we were very relieved she was okay."

Vicky is now awake and slowly learning to walk again with the help of a physiotherapist, said Mr Cooper, who lives in Thornton-le-Dale.

"She made her first proper achievement yesterday by getting out of bed by herself; there was a big grin on her face when she did it.

"She has absolutely no recollection of the accident and of the whole day leading up to it," he said.

"She has been told about the accident and she will be given counselling at some stage; at the moment, though, we just want her well again and home for Christmas."

Mr Cooper, who runs a business in Pickering, said the accident had left the village of Thornton-le-Dale in a state of total shock.

"Everyone in the village knew either Tom or Becki and it has been a terrible experience for the whole community."

ryedale@ycp.co.uk