Mother who broke her back while sledging with her son sues council for not fencing off drainage ditch Kate Parkin careered down a snowy hill with her young son John They both hit a drainage ditch near Silksworth Ski Slope, Sunderland John escaped with minor injuries, but his mother was left badly hurt She had to learn how to walk again and found herself in debt The 31-year-old has called for local authority to fence off the ditch A woman who broke her back in a horror sledging accident is suing a council for not fencing off the land where the crash took place. Kate Parkin careered down a snowy hill with her young son John when they both hit a drainage ditch near Silksworth Ski Slope, Sunderland in January 2010. John, then aged 11, escaped with minor injuries, but the 31-year-old mother suffered devastating injuries including crushed vertebrae and feared she would never walk again. Kate Parkin, 31, from Sunderland, who broke her back in a horror sledging accident in January 2010 when her sledge hit a drainage ditch near Silksworth Ski Slope Ms Parkin underwent two operations in which surgeons inserted rods into her back to strengthen her spine and bone was taken from other parts of her body to repair the damaged vertebrae. She then spent two months with her upper body in plaster before she was able to have physiotherapy. Doctors later told her she could have been paralysed had the injury been centimetres higher. Following the devastating crash, she had to learn how to walk again and found herself in debt after she lost her job at a jewellery store. After talks with Sunderland City Council broke down, Kate has launched legal action to prevent other families going through the same ordeal - despite being warned it could cost £10,000 if she loses the case. She has called for the local authority to fence off the drainage ditch where she crashed. Recovery: Kate Parkin underwent two operations, spent two months in an upper body cast, and still required 28 pain killers a day. Pictured with son John, who was also on the sledge at the time of the accident Ms Parkin, of Monkwearmouth, Sunderland, who is mother to John, now 14, has had to endure a further operation to remove rods from her spine after they started to move and needs to take up to 28 painkillers a day and still has a 4in scar on her back. She now devotes her time to volunteering as a counsellor and has passed her driving test but says the sledging accident changed her life. Ms Parkin said: 'If there had been a fence around it or a danger sign I would not have taken my son there. I thought it was safe but it obviously was not. Despite still being in constant pain, Ms Parkin said she has tried to stay positive throughout her ordeal. She added: 'I got depression and anxiety, which I've never had before, because I went from being a really active parent to not being able to do anything. I felt like I had let my son down for two years. I will never be able to run or jump again, or carry anything heavy, but I've been trying to rebuild my life.' Now the family are building their case up and have appealed for other people who have been injured near to the ski slope to come forward. Mr Parkin, who works with young offenders, said: 'We heard a 33-year-old man had an accident there on January 20 this year and we would like him to get in touch.' Sunderland City Council said it would be inappropriate to comment while legal proceedings were active.