One Direction to meet Alton Towers crash victim Leah Washington

One Direction have filmed a video message for a teenage girl whose leg was amputated following a rollercoaster crash at Alton Towers last week.

Leah Washington, 17, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, was on a date with Joe Pugh, 18, when the carriage they were in slammed into a stationary one on Tuesday, 2 June.

Surgeons at the Royal Stoke University Hospital were forced to amputate her left leg above the knee after she sustained serious injuries while riding the Smiler rollercoaster.

On Monday (8 June), the theme park partially re-opened to the public for the first time since the accident, which left four people seriously injured.

Following a Twitter campaign using the hashtag #Get1DToLeah, members of the pop group filmed a video message for Washington and offered to meet her after a show.

Sara Stuart, who helped start the campaign, said the message "would make Leah's day and aid her recovery".

It's absolutely fantastic news," she said, adding that Washington, who is a huge fan of the band, had bought tickets to see the group in Cardiff but was unable to go due to her injuries.

"After visiting her yesterday and knowing how upset she was that she missed seeing them on Saturday, we decided we would try and get in touch with them to see if they were prepared to visit her or send her a video message," she said. "She would love this."

Agents for the band, who are currently touring in Europe, said that band members Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson would be "delighted" to meet Washington backstage.

"Unfortunately because of their schedule they can't visit her in hospital, but they have offered Leah tickets to a forthcoming concert of her choice when she has recovered, and will be delighted to meet her backstage then," they said.

One Direction's Louis Tomlinson sent her a message on Twitter, saying he was thinking about her.

Pugh, Washington, Victoria Balch, 20 and Daniel Thorpe, 27, all sustained leg injuries in the crash and were airlifted to hospital for treatment.