A HAGLEY PE teacher is set to run the London Marathon for the second time to raise funds for the air ambulance that came to her rescue when she was seriously injured in a motorway crash.

Lucy Dawkins, aged 27, who teaches at Haybridge High School, suffered serious head injuries - including a fractured skull and cut to the back of her head - when her car aquaplaned on surface water and hit a barrier before rebounding into the central reservation on the M42 in October 2013.

After being airlifted by the Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance for urgent treatment at the University Hospital Coventry - she went on to make a full recovery six months later, with the loss of her sense of smell the only lasting damage.

As a big thank you to the life-saving air crews - Lucy raised more than £10,000 for WNAA when she completed the London Marathon in 2015 and when she takes to the streets of London this Sunday (April 23) she hopes to raise more funds for the service.

She said: "I’m just so grateful to the crew for coming to rescue me. If it wasn’t for their quick response and public donations, I might not be here today. Nobody ever knows when they might need the services of an air ambulance, and it’s so important that people support the team and help them continue their lifesaving work."

This time Lucy will be taking part in the Virgin Money London Marathon with her father Martin, who is running for The John van Geest Cancer Research Centre at Nottingham Trent University.

She said: "The aim this time is to complete the marathon together and, at the same time, raise as much as I can for the air ambulance.

"The charity receives no government funding and as each rescue mission they undertake costs approximately £1,700 I believe it is vital to support them."

Anyone wishing to bolster Lucy's fundraising efforts for the charity can make a donation online by clicking here and typing ‘For Lucy’s marathon run’ in the box which asks charity-givers why they are donating.