THE family of a teenage girl seriously injured in a road accident are praying for a Christmas miracle in the hope she wakes from a coma.

Lauren Hills, 16, has been in an induced coma for almost seven weeks following the crash, which also left her boyfriend hospitalised.

The pair, from Brighton, were on their way to Plumpton College, where Lauren is on an equine management course, when they crashed into an oak tree.

The accident happened in Ditchling Road, heading towards Ditchling Beacon, at 11am on October 24.

Lauren’s boyfriend, who was driving at the time, has recently been released from hospital and is undergoing rehabilitation.

Both were wearing seatbelts but it is thought Lauren suffered her brain injury when the couple clashed heads on impact.

Despite Lauren’s devastating injuries, including 50% brain damage, and unclear prognosis, her family remain hopeful and are raising money for her rehabilitation.

Her father Mark Hills, 51, described his daughter, who had dreams of running her own stables, as a “fighter”.

He said: “Doctors said she would never breathe again on her own – but she is a real fighter.

“At the moment we don’t really know what is going to happen. They don’t know if she will walk or talk but she is strong.

“She is starting to open her eyes once or twice a day but only gets them a quarter of the way open.

“She might wake up today, it could be five days, five weeks, five months – we just don’t know.”

Lauren’s sister Chloe, 21, said: “She is happy, bubbly and full of life. She’s an all day, everyday kind of girl. She has a love for horses and food and loves to sing.

“She’s beautiful, caring and forever the clown at the table and, not forgetting, my best friend.”

After being taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, the former Longhill School pupil was transferred to King’s College Hospital in London for specialist treatment and the family will spend Christmas by Lauren’s bedside – praying she will wake.

Mr Hills said: “It’s going to be tough, but we have had lots of support. We travel up from Brighton and stay at the Ronald McDonald House in Camberwell [a charity which provides free accommodation for families with children in hospital]. They have been fantastic.”

Recalling the horrific day, he said: “I was at a friend’s house and rushed to the hospital. I couldn’t go in. I was panicking. I couldn’t breathe properly.

“She was so badly injured and I didn’t want to see her like that – in case it was the last time. I wanted to remember her smile and her being happy.”

As well as 50% brain damage and swelling on the brain, she broke bones in her back and chest and fractured her eye socket.

If Lauren’s improvement continues, doctors have told the family she will need extensive rehabilitation, which they have started to raise money for.

Help has come from friends, family and the community, with one friend running a half marathon and others auctioning football shirts.

Staff at Asda in Hollingbury organised a bucket collection and Brighton City Singers were in the store last weekend raising funds.

Mr Hills said: “People have been fantastic but it is a long road ahead. We don’t know what the future holds.”

The family has asked anyone wishing to donate to Lauren’s ongoing care to pledge to family friend Paul Hunt’s half marathon fundraising effort. To access the page, visit gofundme.com/Paul-hunt.