A Norfolk teenager, who suffered serious head injuries when the horse she was riding fell on top of her, has thanked the charity that helped to save her life.

Olivia Rogers from Bawdeswell, near Dereham, also presented Magpas, the emergency medical charity, with a cheque for nearly �20,000 raised with the help of her mother Carol and friends at a ball in the summer.

'If it wasn't for Magpas, I wouldn't be here now,' said 16-year-old Reepham High School pupil Olivia who spoke to over 350 guests at the Flying Heroes Ball at Little Massingham, near Fakenham.

Olivia was riding at Great Witchingham when the accident happened in August 2011. The horse collapsed and fell on top of her, trapping her. A Magpas helicopter flew to the scene with its volunteer medical staff on board to give her crucial A&E level care to protect her brain and control her breathing, continuing the treatment on board as they flew her to Addenbrooke's Hospital.

Olivia has since fully recovered but her mother Carol still felt compelled to give something back to Magpas. She said: 'I wanted to do something to say thank you for saving my daughter's life.'

With the help of some close friends - Charlotte Buckman from Little Massingham, Catherine Bowes from Ashill, Bridget Frtisch from Harpley and Lizzie Pointer from Dunton - The Olivia Rogers Committee was formed and organised the ball on June 16 raising �19,192.47.

Mrs Buckham said, 'We'd like to thank everyone who attended and supported us in any way. Thanks to our sponsors we were able to create an event which had the absolute wow factor. The guests kept asking us when we're going to organise the next one.'

Kings Lynn-based Magpas volunteer paramedic Carl Smith received the cheque at The Dabbling Duck pub in Great Massingham earlier this week and thanked the organisers on behalf of the charity.

Magpas chief executive Daryl Brown added: 'We are thrilled that Olivia is doing so well and we are tremendously grateful to The Olivia Rogers Committee for organising such a fantastic and inspiring fundraising event for Magpas. The funds raised on the night will make a crucial difference to our lifesaving team, across the East of England. This money will help our highly trained volunteer medics to attend to people at the roadside, in their moment of need, very possibly saving their lives. We receive no Government or National Lottery funding and rely wholly on generous donations from the public.'

* For further information visit www.magpas.org.uk, email info@magpas.org.uk or call 01480 371058.