An exclusive report from BBC Wales: Josie Russell's long road to recovery

Josie Russell, the nine-year-old child who was bludgeoned and left for dead on 9 July, 1996 has made a startling recovery from terrible head injuries - though she will carry the legacy of the attack with her for the rest of her life.

No signs of life

When police first found Josie, her younger sister Megan and their mother, Dr Lin Russell, they presumed that all three were dead.

Josie with her sister Megan

They had been subjected to a horrific attack while walking down a country lane near Chillenden in Kent. When police discovered the bodies there appeared to be no signs of life. Devastated husband and father Shaun Russell was taken to a police station and told that his wife and both his children had been murdered.

It was not until a policeman at the scene of the crime noticed Josie move that the battle began to save her life. PC Richard Leivers reached down and was surprised to feel that Josie was still warm. He comforted her while they waited for an ambulance.

Back from the dead

Lin told Josie to 'run' while they were being attacked

She was taken to Kings College Hospital in South London. There she was seen by Professor Charles Polkey, a renowned neuro-surgeon.

Josie's injuries had been inflicted by five hammer blows to her head. Prof Polkey discovered that she had fractures to both sides of her skull - but most seriously an injury above her left ear which had damaged a portion of the brain equivalent to the size of a tennis ball. The most badly affected area was the part of the brain governing speech.

It was at Kings College Hospital, under police guard because the murderer was still at a large and considered a threat, that Josie began her long and miraculous recovery.

In a two-hour operation surgeons used skin from Josie's thigh to cover the exposed brain. She spent the next few days under heavy sedation in intensive care but within a week was out of bed. Six weeks later she made it clear using sign language that she wanted to go home.

Remembering the attack

Teacher Lynda Roberts was awarded an MBE for helping Josie to recover

Josie soon went back to school, and gradually, with the help of a special therapist and other teachers she partially regained the power of speech. Just a few months after the attack she began to help police with details of the murder.

Eventually she recovered enough to make a series of videotaped interviews. Josie used specially constructed models of her mother, six-year-old sister and herself to explain how they were attacked. She even returned to the scene of the murder with her father in the hope that it would jog her memory.

Both the prosecution and defence counsel agreed to spare Josie the ordeal of having to testify and the taped interviews were used in court.

In April 1998 Josie Russell was awarded minimum damages of £18,500 by the independent Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. The amount was condemned as derisory. Mr Russell was urged by the Home Secretary Jack Straw to appeal against the decision and a national tabloid newspaper also took up the campaign. A few months later the award was increased by £60,500 to £79,000.

The future

Shaun and Josie Russell moved to North Wales to rebuild their lives

Despite her amazing recovery, life will always be more of a struggle for Josie, who now lives with her father in North Wales.

The attack has left her permanently brain damaged with difficulty both speaking and understanding speech. Doctors are unsure whether she will be permanently intellectually impaired.

Two years on the now 11-year-old Josie is still travelling the long road to recovery. Her father Shaun watches her constantly, not only to reassure himself she is safe but also to prevent further injury.