Woman who lost leg in Alton Towers crash models at London Fashion Week A young woman who lost a leg in the devastating Alton Towers crash has been spotted modelling at London Fashion […]

A young woman who lost a leg in the devastating Alton Towers crash has been spotted modelling at London Fashion Week.

Vicky Balch, now 22, was among those who suffered serious injuries on the Smiler ride when it malfunctioned and smashed into a stationary carriage in 2015. Both she and Leah Washington, now 19, lost legs after being badly crushed.

The former dancer from Lancashire revealed after the accident that she had struggled with body confidence issues and suicidal thoughts, telling the Mirror’s Sunday People that “there were days when [she] didn’t want to be here anymore”.

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“I’d think, ‘What’s the point? I’m not going to be able to live my life to the full or love my life ever again’,” she said in the heartbreaking interview.

Growing in confidence

Two years on, Balch is now signed to Zebedee Model Agency, which represents models and performers with disabilities.

She made an appearance on the catwalk for British label Teatum Jones on Friday, joining a number of other models who had also undergone limb amputations as a video about paralympic equestrian Natasha Baker played in the background.

Balch was dressed in an olive green jumper dress from the womenswear brand’s spring/summer 2018 collection, her bionic right leg clearly visible.

Exploring our relationship with the body

Teatum Jones, whose aesthetic “speaks to a super smart, confident and creative woman”, is currently exploring “the story of our relationship with the human body” as part of a 12-month long series called The Body.

Designers Catherine Teatum and Rob Jones champion the idea that “something you traditionally and socially accept as ‘whole’ and seemingly ‘perfect’ can be deconstructed in unconventional ways and considered just as beautiful”.

Teatum Jones was not the only label to send models with disabilities down the London Fashion Week catwalk on Friday, with the Swedish School of Textiles showcasing their new season designs on models in wheelchairs.