A TEENAGER who suffered serious injuries after she was knocked down by a car has had a poem thanking her mum for helping her through tough times printed in a new book.

Emily Watts, 13, entered her poem, Love You Mum, into a national competition and it was chosen as one of the winners.

The Commonweal pupil was involved in a collision five years ago, when she was knocked off her scooter by an oncoming car in Croft Road, but has since made a full recovery.

“Mum has supported me through bad times and good and I just wanted to give her something back,” she said.

“We fight but we fix it and she supports me. She helps me with school and just supports me in everything.

“I have always been into writing. I like writing stories too. You can put your feelings on paper.

“I am happy they chose this one. It’s got a dedication to my mum at the end. When she saw it she said she was very proud of me. It means a lot when you have got your name on something that other people can see.”

The five-verse poem is published in a book called Home Sweet Home by United Press, which includes work by more than 100 writers across the country. The free annual competition asked entrants to send up to three poems about someone or something local.

Emily’s mum Catherine, a nurse, said: “We are very proud of her, it is a great achievement. The poem brought tears to my eyes.

“It is a really good and promising thing she has done. If somebody has done something good it deserves to be shared.

“I am very proud of what she has done. It is a great achievement.”

Emily’s poem tells her mum she is her backbone and keeps her together, and when they fight they fix it as a team.

It also tells her mum she is her sun on a rainy day.

Emily has given a copy to her mum and another to one of her teachers.

Emily suffered two fractured bones in her leg and a broken thumb after the accident in May 2007.

Mum Catherine said: “She was eight at the time. A lot of people tell me they can remember seeing it in the Adver. Everybody was very supportive. We are all very lucky. Emily was very brave.”

Joanna Cummings of United Press, which runs the competition, said: “We had thousands of entries to this competition – the subject certainly inspired a lot of people.” For more information about the book visit www.unitedpress.co.uk.