An Aberystwyth graduate has said she is lucky to be alive following a quad bike accident that left her with a fractured skull.

Young farmer Beca Glyn had a serious accident on a quad bike in March 2018 in which she sustained a fractured skull, neck injuries and major bruising.

Although the Aberystwyth University graduate made an amazing recovery and returned to farming after what she describes as nine long months of rest, physio and rehabilitation, she says life may never be quite the same.

Her medical team are still unsure whether she will ever regain her sense of taste, smell and ability to sleep through the night.

Beca, 26, was helping herd sheep from a field, across a small country road and into a shed at the family farm in Betws y Coed where her family run a flock of 1,000 sheep and herd of beef cattle.

“The sheep started moving in the wrong direction, I panicked and in that split second, thought the dog may not manage to bring the sheep back the right way but if it did, I risked driving into them.”

She swerved sharply too quickly, tipped the quad bike, which landed on top of her and hit her head on the road. She wasn’t wearing a safety helmet - something she says she regrets every single day.

Her dad Glyn, president of the FUW, and a neighbour, were able to lift the bike off her and call the emergency services quickly.

Having sustained concussion, Beca doesn’t remember much of what happened, but pays tribute to the paramedics and A&E team at Ysbyty Gwynedd.

Beca is now on a mission to promote farm safety, especially when it comes to driving farm vehicles.

“I know I’m very lucky to be alive and I’ve made huge progress, but I also know that if I had been wearing a helmet and undertaken training on driving an ATV safely, I may not have ended up in hospital at all.”

See this week’s south papers for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition on Wednesday