Lauren Hardman suffered serious injuires in the fall and believes her drink was spiked earlier in the evening

Lauren Hardman was travelling home in a taxi and stopped so she could be sick on the bridge over St Peter’s Way in Bradford Street.

But the 20-year-old, who believes her drink had been spiked, plunged over the bridge and suffered life threatening injuries in the fall.

She spent four weeks in Salford Royal Hospital following the incident at 2am on November 9.

The nursery nurse suffered a fractured skull, broke both her arms and both wrists as well as having internal bleeding and being left with facial scarring, but is now making a recovery and hopes to return to work soon.

Ms Hardman says the taxi driver who let her out at the bridge drove off when she fell and she is now appealing for him to come forward.

She says she is unable to remember large parts of the evening, but with the help of CCTV she realised she used a burgundy hackney carriage to get home.

She says the footage shows the taxi driver stopping his vehicle near to the bridge over St Peter’s Way in Bradford Street at about 2am, on November 9 last year.

Ms Hardman, from Breightmet, added that she then got out of the taxi to be sick over the bridge — but she fell due to slippery conditions.

The taxi driver drove off and it was not before onlookers intervened that an ambulance was called.

The Bolton News previously reported how 22-year-old Ashley Hughes, who had also been on a night out, spotted Ms Hardman while she was driving home.

Miss Hughes, from Farnworth, who works as a carer for the elderly and is a trained first aider, spent an hour by her side before she was taken to hospital.

Ms Hardman says she has decided to come forward in a bid to find the taxi driver, so she can try to understand what happened that night.

She added that police have closed the case because they have not been able to trace the driver.

She said: “I was out with some friends in Bolton. It was a normal night but I must have been spiked because I just can’t remember anything from it.

“I know from the CCTV that I got out of the taxi and that the driver opened the door.

"It was unusual because usually I ring up for a taxi but I didn’t on that occasion.

“I just want to find out what happened because the incident has had a big impact on me.”

It's unknown whether Ms Hardman's drink was spiked, but the 20-year-old thinks it must have been due to her lack of memory from the night.

Her mother Crystal Mort paid tribute to the onlookers who went to her daughter's aid, as well as the doctors and paramedics who helped her.

She said: "I can't thank them enough for helping my daughter. If it wasn't for them she might not be here today.

"We have never got to the bottom of whether Lauren was spiked or not — as it was very unusual for Lauren to get into one of those cabs.

"It would be great if the taxi driver of the burgundy cab would come forward to let us know why he left her at the side of the bridge."

She added that her daughter hopes to return to work soon.

She said: "Lauren is a happy young girl with lots of good friends, loves life and is very social.

"Lauren is a nursery nurse and is very liked by parents and children and her work friends.

"She is making great progress on her recovery and is planning on going back to work soon. I think she's amazing to have come through all of this so strong, and I'm so grateful to have her here with me today."

Anyone with information can call police on 101.