Teenager warns others after breaking neck doing viral TikTok challenge

A teenager has warned others about the dangers of a TikTok challenge after she broke her neck.

Sarah Platt, from Banbury, was 16 when she was playing with her mates at a hockey tournament and attempted the 'skull breaker' challenge.

The basic premise of the stunt is that someone jumps in the air and then their mates kick their legs from under them, sending them flat on their back.

However, while Sarah's friends were unharmed by the stunt, she lost all feeling in her left leg and was rushed to hospital after landing on her head.

Doctors quickly found that she had broken several bones in her neck as well as her T5 vertebrae.

Phil Harris

While she managed to recover from her injuries and was able to walk again, Sarah now suffers with a condition called postural tachycardia syndrome, which causes her to faint.

Two years on from the accident, Sarah said: "It was just a trend that was around at the time.

"We thought making the TikTok would be fun and funny but I didn’t really want to take part because I just didn’t want to get hurt. But it was a little bit of peer pressure."

She is now warning others about the risks involved in taking part in the viral challenge.

"I want to try and make people more aware not to do it, because it could end in someone getting hurt," said the 18-year-old.

Sarah's mum, Jane Platt said she was just glad her daughter was safe and well.

She added: "We were one of the lucky ones. She’s alive and walking – thank god – but we are obviously having to deal with something else as a result."

Phil Harris

The warning comes after Archie Battersbee's mum said the online challenge that resulted in his death also claimed the lives of 82 children.

Archie was in a coma for more than four months after he was found at his home with a ligature around his neck. His life support was switched off a long legal battle by his mum Hollie Dance to keep him alive.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, she said social media companies need to tackle the deadly challenge.

She told the publication: "The social media companies don’t do enough to stop harmful content online.

"It’s out there and people are grooming our children to do these challenges, it’s disgusting. The people – they’re often adults, not children – who are demonstrating these challenges are sick."

Topics: UK News, Health, TikTok, Viral, Social Media

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers is LADbible's Editorial Lead. After graduating from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History, he went on to write for the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express. So as you can imagine, he’s spent many a night wondering just how useful that second language has been. But c'est la vie.

@SmithersDom