NHS staff are the best people in the world, says Manchester terror attack victim

A teenager who underwent more than 60 hours of surgery following the Manchester terror attack has described NHS staff as "the best people in the world".

Freya Lewis, 15, had to learn to walk again after she was caught up in last year's atrocity and said she owes her life to medics at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.

Speaking ahead of a service to mark the 70th anniversary of the NHS at Westminster Abbey, where she is due to speak, Freya told the Press Association: "I feel very honoured because this is the kind of thing I usually read about in the newspapers.

"It's a bit crazy I was even chosen to even come here, let alone speak.

"I feel like I can show them how much I appreciate them.

"They're the best people in the world. They're very under-appreciated. They basically saved my life."

The teenager, from Holmes Chapel in Cheshire, said the experience had inspired her to think about a career where she could help people, although she ruled medicine out as she is "not good with blood".

Paying tribute to the nurses who cared for her every day, she added: "They were more like friends to me."