A MUM who was paralysed after breaking her neck in a fall has thanked the community which rallied around the help to make sure she could return home.

Darlington woman Paula Lucas suffered the injury in 2018 after falling off a balcony on Mother’s Day and is now tetraplegic.

After spending months in hospital, followed by a care home, she has been able to return to her home in Harrowgate Hill thanks to a huge fundraising effort organised by step-daughter Alex Lucas, 27.

Tradespeople from the town also donated time and materials to help build an extension, which means Mrs Lucas has the facilities she needs.

The family had initially been in touch with the TV producers behind DIY SOS – but when they decided not to feature them, they decided to do their own version.

Mrs Lucas, who is mum to 11-year-old Leah, said: “My step-daughter Alex did a charity fundraiser and raised just over £30,000 and friends and friends of friends have helped to build a huge extension on the back of the house so I could come home.

“We want a way to say thank you to everyone.”

Work started last summer and the finishing touches are still being made to the extension, which includes an accessible kitchen, bedroom and bathroom, complete with lift and hoist.

Mrs Lucas came home earlier than planned last year because of the pandemic and was cared for by husband Mark. who also looked after the renovations.

She added: “It’s been a huge adjustment. It’s been very tough but it was amazing to have all those people who helped us.

“We kind of had our own DIY SOS. When it first happened it looked like we couldn’t manage to bring me home because we couldn’t afford the things we needed. It never would have happened without Alex and all of these people.”

She added: "We just want to say thank you to all the people who have been so amazing. There are so many people who haven't been mentioned but they know who they are.

"It's all helped getting me home after two years of missing out on Leah and her being taken to and from the hospital and the care home. They have helped us be together as a family."

The former tutor at Darlington College has recently been able to start working again and is marking flexible learning courses online.

She thanked family members Mike, Joe, Paul, Jack and Alex Lucas, Tony Tinkler, Rob Newton and his family and friends, Jason Curry, Joe Shields, Brian and Lynne Marshall, Roy the roofer, Terry Harrison landscapes, C&F scaffolding, Carl Pittock, from Jewson's Darlington, Tarmac North West and Cemex Northeast.