A NEWPORT woman who cheated death in a car crash is celebrating the first anniversary of opening her own hairdressing salon.

Despite still being in pain since the 2006 accident, which broke both of her legs and dislocated her hip, Rhiannon Cunningham has found the strength to run her own business.

With compensation from the crash, the 23-year-old decided to purchase the lease of a premises on Chepstow Road for £11,000.

Angel Star, which she runs with the help of a trainee, has now celebrated its first anniversary.

The former holiday park worker was returning to Gwent from Devon with her now husband Jason, 39, in 2006 when their car was involved in a crash with an Army Land Rover, trapping them in the vehicle.

After being released, Mr Cunningham was found to have a double fracture of the collarbone, a fractured sternum and a fractured finger, but his wife was told their injuries could have been a lot worse.

“They said ifmyhip had not come out of its socket I would have been paralysed. The state of the car, they were gobsmacked I was still here,”

recalled Mrs Cunningham.

In a wheelchair for two months, she battled to regain her strength, gradually learning to walk again with the help of crutches, a zimmer frame and special boots.

She suffered another setback, developing arthritis, and then struggled to find work.

“Nobody gave me any work as I have to sit down sometimes.

Nobody wanted to know. I couldn’t do the things I wanted to do, like dance, anymore and thought what could I do withmylife.”

She felt the only way was to set up in business for herself.

With the help of her mum, who also runs a local salon, and the crash compensation, Mrs Cunningham, who qualified as a hairdresser at 16, opened the Chepstow Road premises in February 2010.

One year on and business is steadily picking up.

“It’s like anywhere, it struggles sometimes. At one point I thought I wouldn’t be able to do anything but I’m not that type of person,” she said.

“I do enjoy it and I’m glad what I’ve got,” she added.