The parents of a schoolgirl who suffered severe head injuries after she was hit by a car while crossing a busy road in Worcester have spoken to David Paine about the ordeal.

More than a month after the incident Terri Johnston and David Lamb have described as “every parents worst nightmare” the moment McAyla was hit by a car as she crossed London Road.

The 11-year-old is still bed-bound in hospital suffering with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), has not spoken a single word and only has the use of her right leg and left arm and hand.

But despite doctors’ fears, she continues to make incredible progress on her road to recovery.

McAyla is making progress every day – giggling and tucking her hair behind her left ear the latest signs of improvement.

Her parents regard these signs as miraculous given the fact doctors told them their 11-year-old daughter would almost certainly be moderately to severely disabled and in need of 24/7 care for the rest of her life just after she came out of a coma lasting eight days.

“They said she will never be the same,” said Mr Lamb.

“What that not the same will be we won’t know until we get to that point.

“She hasn’t spoken yet, hasn’t uttered a word, so we don’t know if that’s some sort of thing.

“She hears and seems to see. I’m sure she knows who we are but we’re just not 100 per cent sure.

“It’s not like her eyes brighten up when we walk in the room so we’re not sure if she just sees us as somebody else that’s with her a lot like some of the doctors and nurses, but we hope she does know.”

McAyla, who has been described as a very observant girl growing in confidence, was hit by a car while crossing London Road with friends, including a 15-year-old girl, near Tesco Express on Sunday, September 7, just minutes after she had sat watching the Grand Prix with her dad on his 40th birthday.

It was also the day before she was due to start her first year at Nunnery Wood High School.

Mr Lamb said it was a day he never wanted to revisit but remembered running from their house in Foxwell Street to the scene with no shoes on while Terri followed behind and went in the helicopter to Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

She said: “There was all of this blood in her hair and I just started crying because she was hurting.

“The helicopter got there in eight minutes, which was amazing, and all I could think was McAyla had missed her first helicopter ride – it was just one of those stupid thoughts you have.”

Mr Lamb said although the family had tried to keep life as normal as possible with the help of their eldest daughter Ashely, aged 18, friends and neighbours, it had been hard with a holiday cancellation and the fact youngest daughter Cortni, aged five, has not been able to sleep in the bedroom she shared with McAyla since the incident.

Mr Lamb also said: “Not having spoken to your daughter for well over a month is difficult to deal with. You just want her to say something, whatever it is.

“I can’t remember the last thing I said to her, do you know how disturbing that is?”

Mr Lamb said McAyla, who was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, was a fighter though.

“McAyla will be what McAyla will be,” he said.

“It’s a life-changing event for her, for us, for everybody that knows her and we all have to accept it and move on. Life doesn’t wait for you. It’s put a lot of strain on everybody but you have got to deal with what life throws at you.”

Mr Lamb has set up mcayla.com which includes information on McAyla’s injuries, latest condition, and progress. Some of the pictures may be distressing to some, but the site is intended to give an accurate account of McAyla's path to recovery.