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Lenham resident Danielle Branch raising money for Katie Piper Foundation

A woman who suffered 85% burns across her body is organising a fundraising bash in aid of the charity which helped her live again.

Danielle Branch was placed in an induced coma after the blaze broke out in her motorhome after a New Years gathering of touring clubs, in Addington in 2016.

She had been asleep when the blaze broke out underneath her bed.

The fire which injured Danielle Branch
The fire which injured Danielle Branch

It also left her mother Jan needing a skin graft and step-father Gez Clark, Lenham’s town crier, in hospital with severe burns.

Long hours on the operating table may have helped with her physical recovery, but the 31-year-old from Lenham struggled to face the world so irrevocably changed.

She said: “I still have nightmares about that day. I woke up to the smell of gas and didn’t realise straight away that I was on fire.

“I was placed in a coma for more than a month and nearly didn’t make it.

Danielle Branch was in hospital for several months with serious burns
Danielle Branch was in hospital for several months with serious burns

"I thought that was it. My life over. My looks had gone and I didn’t want to be here anymore.”

Things started to change with a visit from Katie Piper, a model who had sulphuric acid thrown in her face in 2008 and who has now gone on to found a charitable foundation of the same name which helps burns victims.

This can mean anything from help accessing specialist treatments to peer support.

The charity took Miss Branch for a weekend away to meet about 40 other burns survivors which helped turn her life around.

Katie Piper set up a foundation to help burns victims which has supported Miss Branch
Katie Piper set up a foundation to help burns victims which has supported Miss Branch

She said: “At the time I felt I was going further and further downhill.

"I was being supported by friends and family but they didn’t really know how to deal with it.

“After I was invited I was quite apprehensive about going but I met other survivors who understood what I was going through.

“When I came back my mum said I was a different person.”

Danielle Branch before the fire that changed her life
Danielle Branch before the fire that changed her life

Miss Branch decided to help secure money for the charity and last year did a charity skydive which raised £6,000.

Now the Tithe Yard resident hopes to top this with a sold-out masked charity ball at Tithe Barn on Saturday attended by Katie Piper, comedian Vic Reeves and Terry Dunnage, a fellow burns survivor.

There will be speeches, and a charity auction with proceeds matched by Barclays.

Miss Branch added: “I would love to raise £10,000 from the evening for the charity as it saved my life.”

Nearly £5,000 has already been raised for the foundation.

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