A woman who suffered a traumatic brain injury when she was just 17 is encouraging people not to give up.

Catherine Train, 31, was left with a life-changing injury after an accident in 2010.

Her father died in the same accident and Catherine, who was doing her A-Levels at BHASVIC college, was not expected to survive.

READ MORE: Brighton woman launches fundraiser to start family through IVF

She said: "I was not expected to survive the accident and if I did, I would be left severely disabled.

"But I proved everyone wrong with sheer grit and determination. I have gone on to live a fulfilling life and regain much of my independence with support from my family and my team of buddies."

During her recovery, Catherine struggled to move and ended up weighing over 15 stone.

She joined Slimming World and a gym despite the struggles to exercise post-accident.

Catherine, who has since lost over five stone, also took up swimming lessons to aid her fitness and recovery.

She said: "I love my swimming and was very determined to succeed.

She is now set to do a charity swim to raise money for Headway Sussex (Image: Headway Sussex)

"I have gradually got better and can now do three different strokes. I still have lessons as I would like to be even better.

"I struggle at times to coordinate everything, but I try really hard."

The 31-year-old is now using her swimming passion to raise money for Headway Sussex, a charity that supports people from across the county who have suffered a brain injury.

Catherine will be swimming 1 kilometre to raise funds for the charity.

Donations can be made at https://www.justgiving.com/page/catherine-train-1722258875793.

She said: "Headway has been a great support since I had my brain injury, and I would like to raise some money for them by doing a sponsored swim.

"I plan to swim 1km over the course of a month as this is achievable for me."

The charity aims to support individuals and their families by offering a range of support services.

This includes rehabilitation programmes, support groups, helplines, hospital liaison services and counselling aid.

So far, over Catherine has raised £650 for the charity.