Miss England's first amputee contestant
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Fighting spirit: Chloe Jones, 20, is determined to be a positive role model for amputees after losing her own leg. The student from York won the Charity section of a local beauty pageant
A student who suffered devastating injuries in a hit-and-run car accident has made history by becoming Miss England'sfirst amputee beauty queen.
Chloe Jones, 20, lost her leg when a van rear-ended a taxi, sending the out-of-control car flying towards her as she walked home from lectures with a friend.
The taxi pinned her up against a wall, almost completely severing her left leg below the knee and no one has ever been caught for causing the smash.
In an instant, Chloe's carefree life as a textiles student at Nottingham Trent University had been turned upside down and she now faced an uncertain future with a serious disability.
But within two months, she was out of her hospital bed and back at university where she soon realised there was a severe lack of amputee role models for people like herself.
Her only option was to become one - literally.
Chloe, from York, said: 'When I was in hospital I was watching Heather Mills on Dancing On Ice and I realised just how few role models for disabled people there are out there.
'You never see models or people in the media with disabilities or amputations, and watching her made me realise that yes, I can still do these things.
'I told a friend how I was fed up and considering entering a beauty contest and she pointed out the Miss Nottingham competition was about to start.
'Before the accident, I would never have even considered entering a beauty pageant. But I sent in my pictures, and to my amazement I made it to the final.'
Chloe was shortlisted with 29 other girls at a local audition and was the only one to enter it in a wheelchair.
Wearing a long pink dress, she took part in all the choreography with the help of her fellow entrants.
Her efforts impressed judges so much they created a special category for her, crowning her Miss Charity for her fundraising efforts.
Through sponsorship and donations she managed to raise £1,300 for her local hospice for the charity element of the competition, more than any of the other contestants.
Now, Chloe is on the England wheelchair volleyball team and entering her final year at college.
She said: 'When the accident happened last November I was walking back from college with my housemate, Georgia.
'There was a van in front of us by the junction and it just went straight into the back of this taxi, which lost control, mounted the kerb, and smashed me straight into the wall.
'It hit the bonnet and the car bounced off, causing me to slip down between the car and the wall.
'I thought I had broken my leg but when I looked down I could see it was hardly attached anymore. It was hanging on by a thread.
'I grabbed hold of Georgia and said to her: 'Whatever you do, don't look at my leg.' People were standing around and staring but nobody seemed to be helping me.
'Eventually a woman got out of a taxi and started grabbing things off people, like scarves and ties, to stop the bloodflow.
'I was in a state of complete shock, but at the same time I was still rational. I knew there was no way my leg would be saved.
'When I got to hospital, I was rushed into surgery and when I woke up my leg was gone.
'In the end, I was glad I was conscious throughout the whole thing. At least I wasn't expecting the doctors to be able to save my leg, rather than just waking up without it.
'When I first woke up, it was a really strange sensation because you get phantom limb syndrome - you can still feel your leg, even though you know it's not there.
'After that, it was just a case of getting on with things. I watched a lot of DVDs and people brought my sketchbooks in so I could study in hospital.
'All I could think about was how I was going to carry on doing the things I did before and how I would adapt. If anyone ever told me, "You know you won't be able to do this and that anymore, don't you?" it just made me more determined.
'There was never a moment when I felt sorry for myself. I knew I just had to get on with it.
'Sure, there was moments when I cried and hated the world, but who doesn't have those when they are stressed? I was no different just because I had lost my leg.