Campaigner Sarah to carry Paralympic torch
A woman who was badly injured in a traffic accident that killed her mother and left her daughter disabled is preparing to carry the Paralympic torch tomorrow.
Sarah Hope, who spent her early years in Shropshire, is due to carry the torch through Hackney on behalf of the charity that she set up in memory of her mother, Elizabeth Panton, who lived in Market Drayton.
Mrs Panton, 65, died when she was hit by a bus in London in 2007.
The accident left Mrs Hope badly injured, while her daughter, Pollyanna, two, lost her right leg below the knee.
Mrs Hope, who attended Market Drayton Junior School and Shrewsbury High School with twin sister Victoria, was inspired to launch a charity to help amputee children in developing countries get prosthetic limbs.
Mrs Hope named the charity Elizabeth's Legacy of Hope in honour of her mother, who had been a charity supporter and fundraiser.
Mrs Hope said it would be a great honour to take part in the final stages of the torch relay as it headed through Hackney to the Olympic Stadium ahead of tomorrow night's opening ceremony ahead of the Games.
She said: "We have been selected to carry the Paralympic torch and we wanted to tell the people in Market Drayton and Shropshire about the charity which is thriving in my mother's memory."
She added: "The people of Market Drayton have been very supportive to our charity."
She said her mother was well-known in the town and did a lot of charity work for different causes.
"We have set up a charity to provide prosthetic limbs to amputees in developing countries for children who we do not think are as lucky as Pollyanna."
She added: "Although it is not always easy, Pollyanna has beautifully-made legs and can lead a relatively normal life."
Mrs Hope said the charity now has three clinics in Africa – two in Tanzania and one in Sierra Leone.
For further details of its work visit www.elizabethslegacyofhope.org
