The girlfriend of a University of Huddersfield student injured in last week’s Alton Towers rollercoaster crash has had her left leg amputated above the knee, doctors have confirmed.

Leah Washington, 17, from Barnsley suffered ‘life changing injuries’ alongside boyfriend Joe Pugh, 18, on the Smiler ride at the Staffordshire park last Tuesday.

Both teenagers are being treated at the Royal Stoke University Hospital and the University Hospital Coventry.

Health Trust officials have confirmed 18-year-old Joe suffered two broken knees and extensive hand injuries.

Joe is studying textile design at the University and had just completed his first year.

Leah’s father, David Washington praised medics saying they saved his daughter’s life following the crash, after which she was said to have been given a blood transfusion and morphine before she passed out.

In a statement he said: “We would like to thank our family and friends and all the well-wishers for their support.

“Leah has suffered a life-changing injury and now has many months of rehabilitation ahead of her.

“We have done this to put people’s minds at rest and we would also ask everyone to respect Leah’s privacy as she undergoes this rehabilitation.

“We would like to thank all the emergency services at the scene and all the hospital staff who saved Leah’s life.”

Alton Towers said it was “deeply saddened” by news of Miss Washington’s injuries adding that it would “provide full support to all of those involved now, and throughout their recovery and rehabilitation”.

The announcement came as the Staffordshire tourist attraction opened its gates to the public for the first time since Tuesday’s crash, when two carriages on the Smiler ride collided.

Simon Pugh, Mr Pugh’s father, said: “I would like to thank our friends and family for their support.

“We would also like to thank the staff at the hospital who have been very accommodating, have been lovely to us and have protected our privacy.

“We would ask people to respect Joe’s privacy now and over the weeks and months ahead.”

Joe Pugh, badly hurt at Alton Towers

Twenty-seven-year-old hotel assistant manager Daniel Thorpe from Buxton in Derbyshire, and 20-year-old Vicky Balch from Leyland in Lancashire, were also seriously injured.