Heartbreak at Christmas: Woman, 29, who was mourning her aunt is left paralysed by a car crash - then loses her mother in a THIRD tragedy

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A heartbroken woman lost her aunt, was left paralysed by an horrific car crash, and then lost her mother in three consecutive tragedies.

Nat Westmore, 29, from Lincoln, was travelling home after toasting the memory of her aunt, who had been killed in a cycle crash, when she and her partner Shane were involved in a car accident that left the mother-of-three paralysed from the neck down.

Just seven weeks later, Nat's mother Polly Westmore died of a heart attack at the age of 48 in a further blow to the devastated carer - but brave Nat, who will be in hospital until March next year as she recovers from her injuries, has vowed to 'keep smiling'.

Nat Westmore, from Lincoln, is seen in hospital with her sons Koby, Denli and Marley 

Mum-of-three Natalie, 29, is seen with her own mother, Polly, who died of a heart attack 

Nat and her partner Shane had gone out for a drink to toast the memory of her aunt Penelope, who was killed in a cycle crash, on the night of the car accident that left Nat paralysed

Now Nat, who is being treated at a specialist spinal clinic in Sheffield, will spend Christmas without her three sons, Denli, Marley and Koby, who are staying with her former partner in Lincoln. 

But the carer is determined to stay positive. 

'I've lost my aunty, my mum and my legs,' Nat says. 

'But I'll keep smiling. I have to. Mum made me of strong stuff.'

Hours before she was involved in the horror collision on a dual carriageway outside Lincoln, Nat had learned that her aunt Penelope Brown, 35, had been killed.

It was left to her to break the news to her mother - and Pene's sister - Polly Westmore, a conversation Nat describes as 'so difficult'. 

'We were both very upset, so I suggested to my partner Shane that we go for a drink to relax and to pay tribute,' she says. 

But the couple were involved in a crash as they travelled back from a friend's house in the city, and though Shane escaped unscathed, Nat suffered a severe spinal cord injury called a C6 break. 

Now Nat is paralysed from the neck down with only limited feeling in her arms, and has been told she will never walk again.

Tragedy struck once again seven weeks after the crash, which took place on the night of September 23, when Nat's mum Polly died of a heart attack. 

Doctors arranged for Nat to be taken to Lincoln County Hospital via ambulance so she could be there for her mum's final few hours, which she said was 'very special'.  

The mother of three has vowed to 'keep smiling', and says: 'Mum made me of strong stuff'

Natalie on a day out with her sons, Koby, Denli and Marley, before the crash in September

Her boys will spend Christmas Day with her former partner, as Nat will spend it in hospital 

Carer Nat, who is expected to remain at the Princess Royal Spinal Cord Injuries Centre in Sheffield until at least March 2017, was at home when she found out Pene had died while cycling in Lincoln on September 23 this year. 

It was that night at 9.30pm, as she and Shane travelled along the A46 near Thorpe-on-the-Hill, Lincolnshire, that disaster struck again when they were involved in the crash, which is being investigated by police. 

The next day she underwent a six-hour operation to put a metal plate at the front of her neck, and two weeks later she had the same operation on the back of her neck.

Medics then broke the news that she'd suffered a C6 break – a snap to a specific vertebrae – and would never walk again.

'I was absolutely gutted,' she said. 

'But at the end of the day, I've got to focus on doing what I can to get better.'

Natalie and her partner Shane at a theme park before the crash in September this year 

Nat's three boys Marley, five, Denli, seven, and Koby, nine, have been visiting her at the spinal clinic in Sheffield 

Brave Nat's 'believe' tattoo - she says she is a fighter who 'will continue to fight this'

Nat was eventually transferred to the specialist clinic in Sheffield to undergo further treatment. 

Her children, Koby, nine, Denli, seven, and Marley, five, are staying with her former partner, Danny Conway, 34, in Lincoln, and will spend Christmas Day with him. 

Nat, who sees her children weekly, said she misses them desperately.

'But the most important thing for me is they focus on school,' she explained. 'They need some normality.'

Brave Nat, who has started working at the hospital's gym, is determined to keep a positive attitude.

'It does make me sad but I am a fighter and I will continue to fight this,' she says.  

Nat's friend Kev Langtry, from London, will walk from the capital to Lincoln in her honour, to raise money for her children as their mother recovers. 

To donate to the cause, visit Kevin's Just Giving page.