Isy Hinchliffe had feared she would lose her finger after the accident

Isy Hinchliffe, 13, from Brighton, injured her right hand when she was in collision with a car last week.

Her missing finger was packed in ice and she was taken to the Queen Victoria Hospital, in East Grinstead, where she underwent an eight hour operation.

Doctors have told Isy that her finger should be fully healed by Christmas.

Isy had been warned that it might not be possible to save her finger but surgeons at the hospital, which has a world renowned plastic surgery unit, managed to reattach it using so-called "super micro-surgery".

Consultant TC Teo said the procedure increased the range of reconstruction used in micro-surgery, and was something that may not have been possible a decade ago.

"It's because of finer instrumentations, more powerful microscopes and the necessary skills which have evolved over the years," he said.