Disabled road safety campaigner is Argus Local Hero

Sophie Morgan, 27, of Hove, was left paralysed from the chest down after crashing her car when she was 18.

About to start university, she had to adjust to a completely new life.

But even though her world had changed irrevocably she vowed to seize every opportunity.

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Earlier this year she awarded Cosmopolitan magazine's Ultimate Campaigner Award for her incredible achievements in raising awareness of dangerous driving and for her efforts to normalise disability in society.

And now she has the honour of being awarded an Argus Local Hero.

Sophie said: “I started to realise how little representation there was for young disabled women - we were practically invisible, and I wanted to change that,” she said.

Sophie decided to tackle two issues close to her heart - unsafe driving, and the normalisation of disability.

After receiving letters from other disabled women Miss Morgan created the Mannequal, a fibre glass model of a wheelchair designed for mannequins which was used by Adidas and Debenhams.

Just a year after her accident, she took part in BBC documentary Beyond Boundaries which followed an expedition of 11 disabled people through the jungles of Nicaragua.

Then in 2008, Miss Morgan appeared on disabled modelling competition Britain's Missing Top Model which resulted in a modelling job with Stella McCartney's Adidas London 2012 collection.

She is also an ambassador for Drive iQ, a free online programme specially designed by traffic psychologists which allows students to experience simulated versions of driving in difficult conditions.

Sophie added: “The accident was the best thing that could have happened to me.

“I have an exciting career as a product designer and TV presenter, a loving fiancé, and I'm happy.

“Plus if I can save at least one young life, then everything has been worth it.”