A SCHOOLGIRL left fighting for life after a car crash has had her bravery rewarded with a trip to Disneyland.

Sharnice Watson was just 11-years-old when she was seriously injured in a crash on Neasham Hill, Darlington, in August last year.

She was a passenger in a car that hit a telegraph pole, leaving her with injuries so severe she spent four weeks in intensive care and three months recovering at James Cook Hospital, Middlesbrough.

Her bravery throughout her ordeal was noted by the ward nurses, who nominated Sharnice for a trip of a lifetime to Disneyland and Universal Studios Florida, courtesy of British Airways via the Dreamflight charity.

To the nurses’ delight, the youngster was among 192 children chosen for the ten-day trip, which took off from Heathrow today (SUN).

Speaking at her Darlington home before the flight, Sharnice said she felt “epic” when she heard she was going to Florida.

She added: “I just thought it wasn’t real, I was screaming around the house!”

Her mum, Patricia, said Sharnice has endured a painful road to recovery and thanked the Great North Air Ambulance Service and the staff at James Cook Hospital for saving her daughter’s life.

She said: “Without them she wouldn’t be here.

“She was paralysed when she first came round; she couldn’t speak or anything, it was like she had to learn everything again, how to walk and talk.”

Ms Watson was thrilled that Sharnice was going on the Dreamflight, although she admitted that she would worry about her daughter while she was away.

She added: “I am a single parent, I bring my children up on my own and I would not be able to afford anything like this.

“I appreciate what everyone has been doing for us.”

Since the first flight Dreamflight in 1987, over 5,000 children have boarded the specially chartered British Airways jumbo jet to the sunshine state.

Supporters from around the airline come together to make the departure special and this year The Air Cadet National Marching Band and British Airways cabin crew in fancy dress were at Heathrow to see the children board the Boeing 747 through a specially-built castle.

Celebrity supporters including Denise Van Outen and Charlie Dimmock were also there to wave them off and British Airways captain Andy Bean said it was “a privilege” to be flying the youngsters to Florida.

Throughout the journey, the children will be accompanied by the Dreamflight team, British Airways cabin crew and a fully trained medical team, who are on hand 24-hours-a-day throughout the trip.