CITY mother and drink- drive campaigner Ali Morrish has backed a hard-hitting DVD highlighting the case of a young man left with devastating injuries following a crash as a teenager.

Ashley Cousins, now 27, was paralysed following the crash in 1998. Aged 16, Ashley was a passenger in a car that he and his friends stole two days after Christmas.

The driver of the car lost control, crashing into a roundabout near the Trago Mills store, near Newton Abbot.

Ashley was left in a coma, with substantial injuries. He now lives at The Woodmill, run by The Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust, in Cullompton.

A new DVD will tell Ashley's story. His injuries mean that he now can't walk, talk or swallow food. He communicates using special technology, tapping out his messages. His grandmother, Joan Fathers said that Ashley had wanted to do something positive about his experience and to use his story to warn others of the dangers of drink and drug driving.

The DVD will now form part of a road safety campaign by Devon County Council and the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust. It will be used as a training tool within schools and colleges.

Ms Fathers said: "Ashley has long wanted to use his experience positively, to talk to young people about what happened to him. He has said that if he can save one life by telling his story then he'll be happy. Ashley is thrilled to be helping the campaign."

The story resonates particularly strongly with Mrs Morrish who launched Anna's Campaign with the Echo in December. The campaign also warns of the potentially tragic consequences of drink driving and was heavily focused on a moving video Ali made with the Echo talking about her loss and her wishes for the campaign.

This has been shown at a range of events including to several hundred students in Derby.

It has provided one of the most hard-hitting aspects of the campaign, which has attracted the support of nearly 2000 members on a Facebook site.

She said: "Because of my nature and involvement with Anna's Campaign I often think of what happens when the passenger dies, which obviously has to be the ultimate tragedy.

"But it has crossed my mind what would have happened if Anna had lived given the severity of her head injuries.

"If she had, she would have been in an awful brain-damaged state.

"To survive with such a terrible degree of injury must be such an awful thing for them and the family and carers of that person. "

She added: "Our messages are the same and the video that the Echo made for Anna's Campaign had a great impact.

"I am sure this video will do to."