Fighting spirit: Chloe Jones, 20, is determined to be a
positive role model for amputees after losing her own leg. The
student from York won the Charity section of a local beauty
pageant
A student who suffered
devastating injuries in a hit-and-run car accident has made history
by becoming Miss England'sfirst amputee beauty queen.
Chloe Jones, 20, lost her leg when a van rear-ended a taxi, sending
the out-of-control car flying towards her as she walked home from
lectures with a friend.
The taxi pinned her up against a wall, almost completely severing
her left leg below the knee and no one has ever been caught for
causing the smash.
In an instant, Chloe's carefree life as a textiles student at
Nottingham Trent University had been turned upside down and she now
faced an uncertain future with a serious disability.
But within two months, she was out of her hospital bed and back at
university where she soon realised there was a severe lack of
amputee role models for people like herself.
Her only option was to become one - literally.
Chloe, from York, said: 'When I was in hospital I was watching
Heather Mills on Dancing On Ice and I realised just how few role
models for disabled people there are out there.
'You never see models or people in the media with disabilities or
amputations, and watching her made me realise that yes, I can still
do these things.
'I told a friend how I was fed up and considering entering a beauty
contest and she pointed out the Miss Nottingham competition was
about to start.
'Before the accident, I would never have even considered entering a
beauty pageant. But I sent in my pictures, and to my amazement I
made it to the final.'
Chloe was shortlisted with 29 other girls at a local audition and
was the only one to enter it in a wheelchair.
Wearing a long pink dress, she took part in all the choreography
with the help of her fellow entrants.
Her efforts impressed judges so much they created a special
category for her, crowning her Miss Charity for her fundraising
efforts.
Through sponsorship and donations she managed to raise £1,300 for
her local hospice for the charity element of the competition, more
than any of the other contestants.
Now, Chloe is on the England wheelchair volleyball team and
entering her final year at college.
She said: 'When the accident happened last November I was walking
back from college with my housemate, Georgia.
'There was a van in front of us by the junction and it just went
straight into the back of this taxi, which lost control, mounted
the kerb, and smashed me straight into the wall.
'It hit the bonnet and the car bounced off, causing me to slip down
between the car and the wall.
'I thought I had broken my leg but when I looked down I could see
it was hardly attached anymore. It was hanging on by a
thread.
'I grabbed hold of Georgia and said to her: 'Whatever you do, don't
look at my leg.' People were standing around and staring but nobody
seemed to be helping me.
'Eventually a woman got out of a taxi and started grabbing things
off people, like scarves and ties, to stop the bloodflow.
'I was in a state of complete shock, but at the same time I was
still rational. I knew there was no way my leg would be
saved.
'When I got to hospital, I was rushed into surgery and when I woke
up my leg was gone.
'In the end, I was glad I was conscious throughout the whole thing.
At least I wasn't expecting the doctors to be able to save my leg,
rather than just waking up without it.
'When I first woke up, it was a really strange sensation because
you get phantom limb syndrome - you can still feel your leg, even
though you know it's not there.
'After that, it was just a case of getting on with things. I
watched a lot of DVDs and people brought my sketchbooks in so I
could study in hospital.
'All I could think about was how I was going to carry on doing the
things I did before and how I would adapt. If anyone ever told me,
"You know you won't be able to do this and that anymore, don't
you?" it just made me more determined.
'There was never a moment when I felt sorry for myself. I knew I
just had to get on with it.
'Sure, there was moments when I cried and hated the world, but who
doesn't have those when they are stressed? I was no different just
because I had lost my leg.