Blackburn holidaymaker's quad bike horror

3:07pm Monday 12th May 2008

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By David Watkinson »

A HOLIDAYMAKER broke her leg after being "flipped through the air" in a horror quad bike crash.

Zahida Logde's left leg "snapped in two" during a trip to Dubai, and she has now had two metal pins surgically placed through her knee to help her injuries heal.

The mother of four, 35, of Poole Street, Blackburn, was enjoying a quad biking trip in the Dubai desert at Sharjah in the central region of the country when the accident happened.

She said she was left in agony when ambulance crews arrived at the remote location as the paramedics only had a fabric leg brace and a spray to calm the muscles.

Zahida was taken to Al-Dhaid hospital where she underwent an operation and a plaster cast was put in place, leaving her able to travel home.

But Zahida was then admitted to the Royal Blackburn Hospital where doctors realised that the bones had moved and needed another operation.

She then had to undergo a two-hour operation where two metal plates were inserted to hold the bones together.

Zahida said: "I have been through agony as a result of this accident and the problems are still continuing.

"The holiday turned into a nightmare and I'm sure that the accident could actually have been a lot worse. I actually feel lucky to still be here."

Zahida was injured when she crashed a powerful quad bike, which could reach speeds of up to 40 mph, into a fence post in the desert.

Her husband, Sabir Logde, 42, a machine operator, said there was part of a broken fence sticking out of the sand when the accident happened.

He said: "We did want to make a complaint but we were told by the police that we would have to remain in the country if we wanted to pursue the matter and we just wanted to get home.

"We are going to speak to our solicitor to see if we can do anything about it because we don't want anybody else to go through the hell we have been through over the past couple of weeks.

"My advice is not to take chances when you are abroad because most of the organisations don't have any insurance and are not professional in any way.

"It may look like a lot of fun but without it being any fault of your own things can go very wrong."

The accident happened on a family holiday three weeks ago.

Dr Yahya Jaleel, a neurosurgeon at Al Dhaid Hospital, said the hospital received a number of similar cases on a weekly basis. He said many people were not aware of the dangers of quad-biking, which he said, could be fatal.

He said: "We have to deal with emergency cases ranging from minor to very serious on a weekly basis and most of them could be prevented if only safety procedures were enforced."