Judo star Stephanie Inglis makes first official public appearance since life-threatening head injury

STEPHANIE Inglis delighted onlookers when she made her first official public appearance since surviving a horrific road accident in Vietnam.

The Commonwealth Games judo silver medallist was special guest of honour when she cut the ribbon at the opening of Dicksons of Inverness’s new Nissan showroom on Sunday, surrounded by young judokas.

Her appearance came just four months after a motorcycle accident which left her fighting for her life with just a one per cent chance of survival. She defied the odds to return to her family home in Daviot earlier this month.

And Sunday marked her first official public engagement since arriving back in the Highlands. She was joined by members of Highland Budokan Judo Club, founded by her father Robert Inglis.

The 27-year-old said: “I had such a fun day. There was lots going on and I was so well looked after by everyone at Dicksons.

“It was great seeing all the kids from judo, especially since they were having so much fun with all of the activities.

“It was so nice to be out again and there were so many people who came out to support me and wish me well, which was really lovely.”

The ribbon-cutting was just part of a weekend of Olympic and Paralympic-themed activities at the showroom, including a wired wheelchair for visitors to try paralympic wheelchair racing and beat the times of Games hopeful Richard Chiassaro.

Ally Barnett, managing director of Dicksons of Inverness, praised Ms Inglis for attending the event at the Carsegate Road showroom.

“Steph did really well, especially considering it was her first public outing,” he said.

“She had photos taken with all of the youngsters wearing medals given to us by Nissan and spoke to lots of people.

“I was delighted with how the whole day went but Steph really outdid herself so a big thank you to her for coming along.”

Ms Inglis was on a motorcycle taxi to the school where she taught English to underprivileged children when her skirt caught in one of the wheels and dragged her off the bike.

She suffered severe head injuries and fractured her neck in two places and was placed in an induced coma.

However, she confounded medical experts after awaking from a coma in Thailand, where she had been moved to for improved medical care.

She returned to Scotland at the end of June to Edinburgh’s Western General Hospital before moving on to the Cameron Hospital in Fife for rehabilitation.

A fundraising campaign to pay for her care raised more than £300,000 and attracted donations from all over the world. She has appeared on STV’s Real People to tell her story and was on BBC radio earlier this week.

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