A schoolboy left with lifelong scars after his grandmother had a seizure at the wheel of the car they were in has made a remarkable recovery.

Little Charlie Graver, of Chester-le-Street, County Durham, was just four when the car crash left him with a serious head injury, broken cheekbones and a broken nose.

He lost a large amount of skin from his face and had to undergo a skin graft from his thigh to help rebuild his appearance.

But four years later at the age of eight he has raised £3,845 for a charity that helps other children with facial differences and is helping them build their confidence.

Describing the moment she was told Charlie’s grandmother had lost control of her car, hit the central reservation and crashed into another vehicle, Charlie’s mother Kimberley said: ‘I got a phone call from the emergency services.

‘When I answered the call they put Charlie on the phone and he was crying but they thought that hearing me would settle him down.

‘I thought my mum had come off worse because I had spoken to Charlie.

‘But a police officer told me Charlie had serious head injuries. I was absolutely devastated.

‘The drive from work to the RVI, which is a ten minute journey, felt like a lifetime.

‘When I got there Charlie was covered in blood. His face was in a terrible condition and he must have been given medication because he was out of it.

‘When I arrived at the hospital I could see the structure of his nose. It was shocking, he had lost cartilage from his nose and skin.

‘They had to take a skin graft from his thigh to cover his nose. The force of the impact had taken the skin from his forehead and what was left was a flap of skin.

‘They had to leave the rest to heal and allow the skin to re-grow which has left him with some scars but in the future they will be able to reconstruct his nose.

‘It was awful, he was in hospital for seven days and it was difficult for the whole family, I still get emotional thinking about it.

‘You don’t ever imagine anything like that happening. He is such a lovely, caring kid, I just felt like, why him? Why did it happen to him?’

The administrator, 34, who is married to Michael, 39, a gas service engineer, and also mother to Harley Allan, 15 and Lucy, 13, added: ‘We are so so proud of him.

‘I could literally burst with pride for what he is doing and raising awareness of Changing Faces. I just think he is amazing.

‘At first it was hard for him and upsetting, he had nightmares but now he is getting on well.

‘He is doing really well at school and he doesn’t have any issues at the moment but when he meets new people or if we’re out shopping and people stare at him it makes him feel uncomfortable.

‘The scars aren’t as noticeable anymore but he does have his moments. I can’t believe how far he has come.’