A woman who suffered horrific burns when her coach was engulfed by a fireball has stripped off to boost the morale of fellow scar victims.
Catrin Pugh, 23, from Chester, was lucky to escape with her life when flames ripped through the bus, as she travelled across the French Alps in 2013.
But after a long road to recovery, she has courageously bared all to challenge people’s perceptions of scar victims.
Alps crash survivor Catrin Pugh, 23, from Chester, has stripped off to raise morale for other burns victims
Miss Pugh, who was travelling back from a ski season at the time of the crash, was left with only the soles of her feet unharmed and 96 per cent burns covering her body.
Doctors gave the then 19-year-old just a one in 1,000 chance of survival, but after two hundred operations and three months in a medically induced coma, she has started to rebuild her life.
Posing for photographer Sophie Mayanne, Miss Pugh said: ‘It was up to me how much, or how little, I showed.
‘It felt good and I wanted to show my scars are not a big deal, I see them every day and I don’t feel uncomfortable about them. ‘
The coach was engulfed by a fireball after it crashed while travelling through the French Alps
The coach apparently suffered brake failure at the foot of the notorious, twisting descent from the ski resort of Alpe D’Huez
The charred wreckage of the crash is lifted away from the scene by a crane, in 2013
Miss Pugh, who is currently studying bio sciences but plans to go to university to read physiotherapy, said the photo shoot ‘felt good’ and that she does not want others with scarring to feel ‘uncomfortable’.
The student is believed to be the oldest person to survive such awful burns and was kept in hospital for eight months while she fought for her life.
The crash was caused when the coach suffered brake failure at the foot of the notorious, twisting descent from the ski resort of Alpe D’Huez.
Its British driver, Maurice Wrightson, 64, was killed in the accident.
Other people were catapulted out of the bus and some jumped from the moving vehicle. There were 53 people on board, including two drivers.
Miss Pugh (left, on GMB in 2014), who was travelling back from a ski season at the time, was left with only the soles of her feet unharmed and 96 per cent burns covering her body
Doctors gave Miss Pugh (pictured, in hospital) just a one in 1,000 chance of survival, but after two hundred operations and three months in a medically induced coma, she has started to rebuild her life
Miss Pugh, pictured, before her scarring, was 19 years old at the time of the horror smash
Recalling the horrific moment she was pulled from the wreckage, Miss Pugh told the Mirror: ‘It was like a scene from a horror film. I thought I was going to die.
‘I remember them asking me where it hurt the most and me screaming ‘it hurts everywhere’.’
After the horror crash, Miss Pugh was flown home to Britain where she was treated in the specialist burns unit at Whiston Hospital, Merseyside, for eight months.
While her eyes did not get burned, her sight was effected as a result of the amount of times she almost lost her life during treatment.
Miss Pugh explained that her optic nerves were damaged, meaning she now has no central vision.
Miss Pugh (pictured) suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after the crash in the French Alps
Miss Pugh (left, on GMB in 2014) also had to learn how to walk again after suffered 96 per cent burns across her body
Alpe D’Huez is also one of Europe’s premier ski resorts. With 182 miles of piste and 84 ski lifts, it is one of the world’s largest resorts
She also suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and had to learn to walk again.
However, despite the adversity she was forced to overcome, Miss Pugh has remained positive about the future and wants to start a ‘conversation’ on life after scarring.
She said: ‘There are people who may feel ashamed or embarrassed by their scars, by me showing mine I wanted to make them feel more confident about theirs.’
London photographer Ms Mayanne is aiming to photograph 1,000 people to tell their stories through their scars and disfigurements.
She said: ‘The campaign gives an unedited view of a multitude of amazing people and their scars, with a main goal of challenging people’s perceptions of the skin we’re in and finding beauty in the unexpected,’