A YOUNG woman is showing encouraging signs of recovery after being seriously injured when she fell 30 feet from a bridge.

Student Liz Wilson was out on the town in Llangollen celebrating her 21st birthday when she and a male friend plummeted from the parapet of the bridge in Queen Street, which spans a small stream flowing into the River Dee.

Miss Wilson, whose family live in Garth, was found in shallow water and sustained serious injuries early on Sunday morning.

After being lifted to safety by emergency services she was taken first to Wrexham Maelor Hospital and later transferred to the Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery in Liverpool.

The young man who fell from the bridge, named locally as Dewi Hughes, 21, of Llangollen, was also taken by ambulance to the Wrexham Maelor where he is believed to have received treatment for a fractured arm.

Miss Wilson is studying animal care at Bromley College in Kent and had gone to Llangollen to celebrate her birthday with old school friends from the town’s Ysgol Dinas Bran.

On his way to see his daughter in hospital yesterday morning her father Paul said: “I and other family members spent all Sunday with her at the hospital. She is in a stable condition and conscious.

“She did say a few words to us on Sunday, which is an encouraging sign.

“I have no idea how she came to fall off the bridge but we are all praying she will be all right.

“Having been at school in Llangollen Liz has many friends there. Lots of her friends have been round to the house to see how she is.”

Mr Wilson added: “Although she is on an animal care course in Bromley I don’t think she is sure what she eventually wants to do.

“She does want to come back up to Wales and study at Glyndwr University.”

Dale Burgoyne, 43, who lives on the nearby Pengwern estate in Llangollen, was passing the bridge as the drama unfolded.

He said: “I was on my way home at about 12.25am after a night out in the town.

“I saw a commotion going on around the bridge, with the fire brigade, police and ambulances all involved.

“There were also lots of people there watching what was going on, including a number of younger ones who looked like they were friends of the people who fell from the bridge.

“Some of the girls were screaming.

“The girl had been lying in the shallow water just under the bridge and I saw her being lifted up to the road and into the ambulance.

“She was lucky to have survived after a fall like that.

“I also saw the young man being lifted to safety but I don’t think he was as seriously hurt.

“As far as I could see they were both speaking, which was a good sign.

“The most important thing is that they are both alive and safe.”

Police are not treating the matter as suspicious but Inspector Tony Latham said:
“We are appealing for anyone who may have witnessed the incident to telephone the force control room on 101, if you are calling from Wales, 0845 607 1001 (Welsh line) or 0845 607 1002 (English line) quoting incident reference L085020.”