A WHEELCHAIR-bound mother left paralysed after a horrific car accident has been awarded £2.7 million damages.

Lindsey McCarthy, aged 23, from Smithills was left with severe spinal injuries when the car -- in which she was a passenger -- crashed into a lamp post and a phone box before overturning on Mere Hall Drive, Bolton.

Another passenger, 21-year-old Deborah Critchley, died in the accident in August 1998.

The driver of the car, Adrian Adams, was later jailed for six years after it was discovered he was high on drugs.

Today, after being awarded a £2.7 million damages payout, Miss McCarthy -- who will never walk again -- confessed: "I am looking forward to the future positively, and while I can never forget what has happened, I just want to think of the future for my daughter and myself."

The massive payout was made after the first day of a civil court hearing.

Miss McCarthy, a former hairdresser, spent nine months in a specialist spinal injuries unit at Southport after the accident.

The money, part of which has been paid, has already enabled her to move out of council accommodation into a specially adapted bungalow with her four-year-old daughter Rene.

She said: "While it can never replace what I have lost, the award will mean security and allow me to lead something approaching an independent life.

"Because of what has happened over the past four years I haven't always been been able to give Rene as much attention as I would have liked.

"I feel very angry about what happened, but I feel incredibly lucky to have a beautiful little girl and to have a lovely spacious home with everything adapted for me so that I can live my life to its full potential.

"I have a lot of plans, although at the moment I am happy just being a mum to a lively four-year-old."

On the night of the accident Miss McCarthy and Miss Critchley had accepted a lift from Adams in his Ford Escort XR3.

But seconds after the car set off, and before Miss McCarthy had time to put on her seatbelt, the car crashed.

Another woman, Zoe Owen, believed to be the front seat passenger, escaped with cuts and bruises. Adams sustained fractures to bones in his back.

Adams, of Bradford Street, Bolton, was subsequently jailed for six years for causing death by dangerous driving, having no insurance and being under the influence of drugs.

Miss McCarthy was just two days from her 20th birthday on the night of the accident. Now she is confined to a wheelchair and has only limited use of her upper body.

Miss McCarthy's solicitors, Russell Jones & Watson (RJW) of Manchester, successfully sued Adams for damages but because he was not insured, the Motor Insurance Bureau -- funded from a pool of money from car insurers -- had to meet any award paid.

Miss McCarthy and solicitor Richard Crabtree, of RJW, attended at the High Court in Liverpool yesterday for the start of a four-day hearing.

Mr Crabtree said: "The Motor Insurance Bureau had originally contested the case because Lindsey did not have a seatbelt on, but we argued she did not have time to put one on and because the car ended up on its roof a seatbelt would have made little difference.

"Lindsey gave evidence to the hearing and after that the Motor Insurance Bureau offered a settlement of £2.7 million which we advised her to accept.

"No amount of money can bring back what Lindsey has lost in this accident but, while this is not an unprecedented amount of money, it is a good result."

He added: "We are delighted that the court has accepted that Lindsey will need round-the-clock care for the rest of her life.

"This settlement will help her plan for a secure future in which she and her little girl can look forward to enjoying a good quality of life."