Friends of a girl who was left paralysed after falling from a climbing frame are raising funds for her ongoing care.

Members of Ilkley theatre group Upstagers have collected over £3,700 for former pupil Bel Young, who broke her neck in the accident in a neighbour’s garden last year.

The nine-year-old has spent months in the paediatric high dependency unit at Leeds General Infirmary, and relies on a ventilator to breathe. But she is now returning home at weekends and enjoying trips to Ilkley and the cinema.

She attended Moorfield School for Girls in Ilkley. Her parents, Vanessa and Simon Young, and friends have now set up The Being Bel Trust, so they can buy specialist equipment and care.

A spokesman for the fundraising campaign said she was astonishing all who knew her with her positive attitude and determination.

“This cost will be ongoing but the family desperately need rehabilitation equipment to help her in her transition from hospital to home.

Anything we can help fund would be fantastic for her and her family.”