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BRIDE AND VROOM

Bride will have to hobble down the aisle after her leg was broken in three places – by a remote control car

Emily Johnson was exercising with a fitness group when the out-of-control buggy was repeatedly driven at her

A BRIDE-TO-BE will have to hobble down the aisle after a remote control car broke her leg three weeks before her big day.

Emily Johnson was exercising with a fitness group when the out-of-control sand buggy repeatedly smashed into her.

 Emily Johnson will have to hobble down the aisle after a remote control car broke her leg three weeks before her big day
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Emily Johnson will have to hobble down the aisle after a remote control car broke her leg three weeks before her big dayCredit: SWNS:South West News Service

The 21-year-old was using heavy ropes to work out with a pal when the miniature petrol-powered vehicle was driven at the two women, causing Emily to fall and badly break her leg.

They were taking part in an exercise session at St John's Park, Burgess Hill, West Sussex when the accident happened at around 8pm on Monday.

Emily is due to get married to fiancé Sudi Patel on September 10 and the couple are facing the prospect of cancelling their honeymoon to Agadir in Morocco.

Sudi has said he was furious to find out the remote-control buggy that injured his wife-to-be was driven by a man in his 40s.

He said: "I was quite shocked when I found out what happened, I was even more shocked to find out the age of the person as you don't expect someone in their 40s to be doing something like that on a Monday evening.

"I heard he was drunk at the time and that probably played a factor in his behaviour."

 Emily Johnson and fiance Sudi Patel now face cancelling their honeymoon as a result of the devastating injury
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Emily Johnson and fiance Sudi Patel now face cancelling their honeymoon as a result of the devastating injuryCredit: SWNS:South West News Service
 Emily was exercising with a fitness group when the out-of-control sand buggy repeatedly smashed into her
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Emily was exercising with a fitness group when the out-of-control sand buggy repeatedly smashed into herCredit: SWNS:South West News Service

The groom-to-be added: "We are potentially going to have to cancel the honeymoon, it's going to cost quite a bit of money, it's not an ideal situation.

"I got a call from Emily, she was crying down the phone to me and I rushed to the park to find out what was going on and she was lying there crying on the grass."

The couple, who have been together for four-and-a-half years, are facing the prospect of Emily having to walk down the aisle on crutches, after having emergency surgery to fix her shattered leg.

Sudi added: "Every girl has a dream about her big white wedding and it doesn't involve crutches.

"She wanted it to be perfect and through no fault of her own she's had all this."

Paul Gilson, who co-owns Ultimate Outdoor Training with Dave Shaldoum, said Emily had been with a group who had been training by the old lido in the park when she was hit by the vehicle which appeared to be petrol-powered.

Emma Tasker, who was running the training session with 16 people taking part, said the foot-long large sand buggy-type vehicle with huge wheels was terrorising the class and would not leave them alone.

The 37-year-old added: "We were doing various exercises when this guy had been hanging around driving the remote controlled car and it was very noisy.

"He looked in his 40s and he was really trying to disrupt the class.

"He started to drive it at the group. So much so that I asked him to stop, but he continued and started chasing Emily, she was quite intimidated.

"She fell and he her leg. At first we didn't realise it was a break.

"We confronted him and he didn't apologise, he was laughing."

 Emily had emergency surgery to fix her shattered bone and now faces a wedding day on crutches
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Emily had emergency surgery to fix her shattered bone and now faces a wedding day on crutchesCredit: SWNS:South West News Service

A police spokesman said the force were investigating the incident.

He added: "Police were called to St John's Park on London Road at 8.05pm to a report a woman had been hit several times by a remote control vehicle.

"She was treated for a broken leg. Officers are still waiting to speak to her to find out more details.

"Anyone who saw what happened is asked to contact police."

A spokesman for Mid Sussex District Council, which owns the park, said it had been notified of the incident.

He said: "We are waiting for Ultimate Outdoor Training to send us a full accident report and we will then carry out a full investigation."


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