A BOURNEMOUTH woman left with a badly injured leg after a bus crash is preparing to run the London Marathon – and is hoping to raise thousands of pounds for disabled people in the process.

Gemma Leach, who lives in Westbourne, was making her way to a job interview by bus in August 2012 when it smashed into a lorry at St Paul’s Roundabout.

Despite being covered in glass and shaken up, Gemma’s primary concern was still to get to the job interview.

“I really didn’t know what had happened,” said Gemma.

“I remember getting a call because I was late for the interview and explaining I had been in a road traffic accident.

“But when I got there I just burst into tears.”

Gemma felt her leg stiffen as the day went on, but it was not until the next morning that she finally went to hospital.

Her right leg was two inches shorter than her left as a result of the impact and needed months of work from medics, chiropractors and physiotherapists.

She still requires regular steroid injections, has not recovered the full range of movement in her leg and was forced to give up on the winter sports she had so enjoyed.

However, Gemma considers her injury to pale in comparison to the battle her younger sister, Amy, contends with every day.

Amy has a number of life-limiting disabilities and has received crucial help from Scope – the charity Gemma has chosen to raise money for with her run. To sponsor Gemma, visit: http://uk.virgin moneygiving.com/GemmaLeach