THE family of a woman left paralysed after being crushed by a horse in Egypt is trying to raise the £32,000 needed to fly her home.

Olivia Fairclough, from Stockton, is believed to have suffered a broken back, four broken ribs and is unable to move her legs after the horse reared, throwing her off, and then fell on her, at the weekend.

Her brother Trevor said his 31-year-old sister had been living in Egypt and is not insured, and the family need to get her back to the UK for treatment urgently to try to stop her being permanently paralysed - but don't have the £32,000 needed to fly her home.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office last night confirmed officials had visited a British national in hospital in Cairo and were supporting her however they could.

Mr Fairclough has started a crowdfunding campaign on Go Fund Me to try to raise the funds.

"We don't have that kind of money," he said. "We haven't actually been able to talk to her so we're not sure how she is or exactly what the situation is."

Mr Fairclough said he was planning to fly out to Cairo on Sunday to see his sister, as he had been unable to speak to her directly. It is not known if the paralysis is permanent at this stage.

She moved to Sharm-el-Sheikh last year to work as a hotel receptionist but after the terrorist attacks the resort was almost deserted, and she moved to Cairo to work in some stables.

But her life changed on Friday when the former Egglescliffe School pupil was crushed by the horse.

Mr Fairclough added: "It's becoming apparent that we need to push hard for this fund.

"The longer Olivia stays in Egypt the higher the risk of total paralysis. The health care in Cairo isn't exactly the best, plus with all the additional complications, the costs will lengthen with no resolve."

He has received an estimate of £32,000 for flying his sister back to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough for specialist treatment but will also have to cover her medical bills in Cairo - and the longer she is there the more expensive it will be.

Within two days people had already donated almost £6,000 through a GoFundMe page, which he said the family were grateful for. However, Mr Fairclough said he was concerned once family and friends had donated, they would slow down and it would take much longer to reach the target.

To donate, visit www.gofundme.com/bringhomeolivia