Crash orphan out of coma

The crash left Sadie I'Anson (right) an orphan

A seven-year-old girl has regained consciousness following a car crash in Corfu which killed her parents and younger brother.

Sadie I'Anson had been in a coma in a Greek hospital after suffering serious head and leg injuries.

Her parents Neil, 34 and Dawn, 28, of Swinton, near Rotherham, died along with their six-year-old son Keegan, and two local adults who were travelling in the other vehicle.

Shocked staff and classmates at Brookfield Primary School, where Sadie is a pupil, took part in special assemblies on Wednesday morning to pray for their friend.

Headteacher Alan Pycroft said: "Many of the children had already heard through the media but we have held a couple of assemblies this morning.

"We held one for the younger children in the infants and a similar one for the juniors where we could share our sorrow and grief over the tragic news about one of the Brookfield family."

Sadie's grandparents Pat and Brian Wigley arrived in Athens on Tuesday night to be at her bedside.

The Corfu crash was one of the worst in recent memory

Speaking before he left Mr Wigley said: "You can come to terms with it when it's just one person but when it's a whole family it's devastating."

A spokeswoman for South Yorkshire Police said Sadie had regained consciousness and had been able to talk to her grandparents.

She is said to be in a stable condition.

Arrangements are now being made to fly the bodies of the I'Anson family back to the UK.

The spokeswoman added that Sadie would return with her grandparents once she had recovered sufficiently from her injuries.

'Speeding car'

Greek police said the accident, which happened just after midnight on Monday, was one of the worst accidents on the island in recent years.

Officers believe the family's vehicle collided with another car travelling at about twice the legal speed limit on a road outside the northern village of Karousades.

Three other passengers in the Greek car were seriously hurt.

An investigation is underway into how the accident happened.

Mr Wigley said the holiday had been a surprise for the two children who were not told they were going until the morning of their departure last week.

The I'Anson's next-door neighbour Bill Mansell said: "They were such a loveable family. It's just terrible, absolutely terrible."