A YOUNG disabled girl got the experience of a lifetime when she crossed the new Queensferry Crossing last week.

Freya Hunter, who suffers from severe Cerebral Palsy, joined 50,000 other lucky people as they got to cross the bridge ahead of its Royal opening.

The chance came about after her dedicated nurse began talking about the experience, and Freya’s mum, Carolynne, then decided she would try and get her daughter to be part of it.

She said: “I thought it would be brilliant and I’d love Freya to do that. She doesn’t get to do much, so I wanted her to do that. I was convinced I was going to get Freya on that bridge.

“She also suffers from respiratory problems, so it was going to be risky getting her across it.

“I contacted Keith Brown, our local MSP, and asked for his help in arranging it. Then Transport Scotland got in contact with me and said they were adamant that Freya would get to go across.”

She continued: “We had to arrange for an ambulance to be there and a specific car which could fit her wheelchair, so we eventually had to use the taxi which we always use for Freya.

“We then had to get security clearance because taking a car over has its own problems these days.”

Carolynne managed to clear every hurdle so that her group, which included Freya, her nurse, a nurse in training, her other daughter and her friend, got the chance to be among the first to cross the third Forth Bridge.

The mum added: “When we got there, we were allowed right in to the front. It felt like we were royalty. We were on the bridge for about two-and-a-half hours and we had a professional photographer taking pictures of us.”

Despite Freya being asleep for the entirety of the event, Carolynne thinks she enjoyed the experience.

She said: “She was asleep during it, but she gave little smiles and she will have enjoyed the peacefulness of it. Her monitor showed a steady heartbeat, so I think she was happy.

“I do wish she had been awake to be able to feel the wind blowing in her face, but everyone enjoyed the day and it was great because everyone was waving to us as we went across.

“We felt really included in the whole thing. It was like a sense of freedom to get Freya on to the bridge for that day.”

A Transport Scotland spokesman said they were delighted to assist Freya’s participation.

A spokesperson added: “Our team has spoken with Mum Carolynne and understand that she is building everlasting memories for Freya and how important this is. We were delighted to make this happen and play a small part in that process.”

Keith Brown MSP said: “I am delighted that Transport Scotland were able to include Freya in the Queensferry Crossing opening event – I know how much this meant to her family and I hope they will have many happy memories of their visit to the bridge.”