Arson victim celebrates new start

Mrs Khan said joining a gym was a turning point

A woman from Leicester who was badly burned in an arson attack has said she has surprised herself by her recovery.

Shabina Khan, 32, was left needing skin grafts and a wheelchair after her house on Sutton Avenue, in Belgrave, was set alight in May 2007.

But after initially being too scared to walk down the street, she said she has been able to rebuild her life and now feels confident about the future.

Three men have been arrested and bailed in connection with the attack.

Mrs Khan and her two young sons were left in a serious condition after the attack.

Scar tissue

She suffered 30% burns and was taken to intensive care where she spent more than two months and has had six skin graft operations. Both of her sons made a full recovery.

Even when she left hospital she was unable to speak.

"I was like a zombie," she said. "I was so afraid of going outside, I did not have the confidence to go to a local shop.

"I wouldn't go to the school because of what people might say about my face, my neck, my scars."

But within a year she has turned her life around.

"It is difficult to believe I now have the confidence to get out, to drive, to walk, to dance, to go to weddings, to dress up. It feels like a miracle.

"It has been a nightmare but I try not to think about it too much, I am just thinking about the future because there is no point thinking about what happened and why because I wouldn't be able to move on."

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Shabina Khan suffered 30% burns in the fire