Amputee climbs Whitby's 199 steps for charity

A woman who had her right leg and pelvis amputated after being run over by a tractor has made it to the summit of Whitby's famous 199 steps to raise money for charity.

Lucie Maguire, 24, of Kirkby Malzeard, near Ripon, battled heavy rain and windy conditions to reach St Mary's churchyard at the top, supported by family and friends.

Lucie was 19 when she was struck by the farm machinery as she helped her mum from a broken car in a country lane on 27 January 2021.

To mark the fifth anniversary of her accident, she decided on the "hop to the top" challenge to raise money for Day One Trauma Support, a charity which helped her and her family through her ordeal.

The 199 steps date back to at least 1340 and are said to have been used as a test of Christian faith to those who wanted to visit the abbey at the top.

She said: "My only goal was to get up here, whether it took me an hour or a week.

"To have done it in under an hour, that has blown me away."

The challenge marked the first time Lucie had travelled so far without the use of a wheelchair.

She added: "I've been so ready to give up so many times and I have always sort of thought, 'why have I done all this, why did I keep going?'

"Sometimes my head can be my own worst enemy and it tells me a lot of the time that I've never achieved anything, but there is no way after this that anyone can tell me that I've never achieved anything."

She added: "It is just incredible. The amount of people who tell me they struggle with this on an ordinary day with a full able body."

Lucie thanked people who had helped her with the challenge, which has raised £4,830 so far.

She added: "I've had the best support system anyone can ask for in the past five years. It's the reason I am doing it for Day One.

"All of it is quite incredible."

Lucie was joined by PC Ali Hoyle from North Yorkshire Police.

The officer said: "I had been to three fatals, all under the age of 25, in a two-and-a-half week period.

"I actually thought Lucie was going to be the fourth.

"I struggle with my mental health and I went off sick not long after Lucie's collision because I couldn't cope. I always felt like I'd let Lucie down.

"I went to see her in hospital afterwards and my colleagues picked up the investigation and saw her through.

Hoyle paid tribute to Lucie's resilience: "To do what she's doing is just absolutely amazing. I just wanted to be here to support her to do that."

Lucie has previously spoken about how she thought she would die when she was hit by the tractor.

She was dragged along the road under its 10-tonne trailer, leaving her with injuries compared to those suffered by bomb-blast victims in combat.

During 518 days in hospital, mostly on the major trauma ward at Leeds General Infirmary, specialist teams helped rebuild her body – giving her the strength to sit up and use a power-assisted wheelchair.

For the past three years she has continued to recover, with more surgery and specialist rehabilitation.

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