A mother-of-four who had 20 years of memories wiped out by head injuries suffered in a car crash, has told of the fight to rebuild her life.

Perlene Griffith-Barwell, 42, of Silver End, has been hailed as ''truly inspirational'' by Headway, the charity for people with head injuries, during national Head Injuries Week.

After the crash in 1995, on the B1018 between Witham and Silver End, Perlene did not know her four sons, Kyle 13, Blair nine, Declan eight and Theo, five, or her husband when she finally regained consciousness.

Miraculously, even though her sons were all in the car, none were injured.

When she looked in the mirror, she saw herself as a girl of 16. She recognised her parents, but her husband and sons were like strangers to her.

Memories of friends, work colleagues, and her well paid job at a bank, had also disappeared.

"I was a changed person," she says. "When I finally came out of hospital after eight weeks - four in Broomfield and four in Black Notley - and went home I couldn't stand the noise of the children. It was all too much."

And sadly her changed personality cost her marriage.

"I was a different person, a girl of 16 and my husband was a man with four children. After a time, as I slowly recovered, we drifted apart and then had nothing in common," she says. They are now divorced.

"That is common among head injury people," she explains, ''people change for ever."

There were other things to cope with. The accident left her with major scars to one knee where her leg had to be cut from the wreck, her other ankle has metal screws in - is always cold and her arms hurt just putting on her clothes.

"I lost my sense of smell, of taste and of time. When I cooked food I used to burn everything and leave out ingredients and my memory is still really bad.

Talking to friends and neighbours has been difficult. "I say hello to people, but can't remember who they are or why I know them," she says.

The accident and her injuries have also changed her focus on life. "Before the crash I wanted lots of money, a nice house and holidays. Now all I want is the health of my children, enough money to feed them and pay the bills. You realise money just isn't important."

Now, eight years on, Perlene is planning to marry again, in August to John Mason, of Colchester, who received head injuries in a football accident 20 years ago. They met on a Headway holiday in Jersey.

"You have to get on with your life," she says, "you can't just lie there and give up."

"Perlene is a truly inspirational example," commented Jo Wright, of Headway, Colchester.

Cookery lessons: Perlene Griffith-Barwell has to relearn simple household tasks.

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