When I Woke Up I Realised Two Things Were Missing…My Boyfriend And My Entire​​​​​​​ Left Leg

On the morning of 2nd June 2015,Leah Washington and Joe Pugh were a new couple visiting Alton Towers on their first proper date. By the afternoon, after a horrific roller-coaster accident,Leah would be left fighting for her life – and their relationship.

- Radhika Sanghani

I remember the day like it was yesterday: 2nd June 2015. Joe and I had only been dating a few months, but we had planned to spend the day together at Alton Towers. We’d met through mutual friends and things had kind of accidentally escalated. The truth was, I wasn’t looking for a relationship. I was due to go to university in the autumn. A relationship would almost certainly complicate things…

But Joe was handsome, kind, and made me feel completely at ease. It was a few days before that we had officially decided we were ‘together’. I was 17. Joe was 18. And so we decided to celebrate in the most fun way we knew how: with a day trip to Alton Towers.

It was the first time we’d had a day out together, and I wanted it to be special. I can still remember with absolute clarity what I wore: a black jumper, black skinny jeans and ankle boots. Joe picked me up at 9am and, after a two-hour drive, we were there. 

It was the beginning of summer, but you’d never have known it from the weather: a dull grey sky with an icy wind that caught the back of my neck. But it didn’t matter. It was enough that we were alone together. 

Music boomed from each ride, while groups of raucous students who had broken up for the summer surrounded us. We bought two Cokes, and headed straight for The Smiler.