BUSINESSWOMAN Leila Wilcox was almost paralysed in a car crash.

Now the mother-of-one from Stonesfield, near Witney, who broke her back in the collision, is training to take part in the OX5 Run to raise money for Oxford Children’s Hospital.

It will be the first major run Miss Wilcox has undertaken since the smash on the B4027 in Woodeaton, near Oxford.

In 2006, Miss Wilcox was with her son Troy Wilcox-Moss, then two, and her mother Marilyn, 56, when their Peugeot 206 was involved in a collision with a VW Golf and Land Rover Freelander.

Miss Wilcox said: “I broke my back in three places and my right ankle was shattered.

“I couldn’t move my neck, and without an operation at the John Radcliffe Hospital I would have been paralysed.

“There was a one-in-20 chance that the operation could paralyse me but James Wilson-MacDonald, one of the country’s top spinal surgeons, decided to operate and thankfully it was a success.

“Troy cut his lips and lost a tooth in the accident and had to go to the children’s unit.

“It was very traumatic, but the staff were superb and let Troy come into the same emergency room as myself.

“In the winter I still walk with a limp sometimes, but when I heard about the OX5 Run I thought it would be a great way of me saying thank-you to the staff at the hospital.

“I live quite close to Blenheim Palace, where it is being held, so I can try to do some training runs in the grounds.”

Miss Wilcox aims to complete the five-mile race, which is being sponsored by recruitment firm Allen Associates, on Sunday, April 18, in under 40 minutes.

As a young entrepreneur, Miss Wilcox’s shampoo firm Halos n Horns was launched on Channel 4’s Make Me A Million show. She now also runs companies providing travel insurance for surgery abroad and children’s health insurance.

Miss Wilcox added: “Troy is six and he is fine now. I’m so glad that the children’s hospital is right on the doorstep.”

Children’s hospital spokesman Sarah Vaccari said: “After everything that Leila and Troy have been through, it’s really inspiring to hear she is running.

“We’re delighted that she has chosen to take part in the OX5 Run.”