Hundreds raised to help Midhurst couple after ‘horrific’ collision

Denise and Max Mordle with their daughter Layla

Max and Denise Mordle were returning home from a supermarket trip in Chichester on Saturday evening when they were involved in a collision on the A286.

Denise, 38, had to be cut from the wreckage and the couple were both taken to hospital.

“It was horrific,” Denise said. “We are lucky we got out of there alive, but there are all these consequences.”

Max, a self-employed plasterer, has been told not to work while he recovers from his injuries.

Denise, who is currently on furlough from her job as manager of Cancer Research UK in the high street, said: “Each day he isn’t in work we are losing money.

“We’ve got children to support and bills to pay. It is a worry. Lockdown is hard enough as it is.”

The couple were both left with whiplash and back pain following the collision and will need some time to recover.

“I can’t move my head at all,” Denise said. “I can’t stay on my feet for very long.”

It was fortunate they had been travelling in Max’s van, Denise said, adding: “If we had been in a normal car, it would have been a lot worse.

“We are just glad none of the children were with us.”

After the collision, Denise’s friend Sue Stoves-Clark and other colleagues from the shop set up a fundraising page for the family, to help them with rent and bills while they recover and help ‘lift some of the worry’.

A total of £1,450 has been raised for the pair so far.

Denise said they were ‘very grateful’ for the support.

“Everyone has been so good,” she said. “I feel a bit overwhelmed by it.

“I feel guilty in a way. I’ve never asked for anything, I’m normally the one helping others.”

Denise is well-known in Midhurst for organised fundraising events at The Bricklayers Arms and has recently been volunteering at the vaccination hub at Memorial Hall.

She said: “To know there are good people out there, it’s quite uplifting. I want to thank so many people.”

The pair are now recovering at home, with the events of the last few days still sinking in.

“Within a split second everything got taken away from us,” Denise said, adding: “I won’t ever take anything for granted again in life.”

To view the fundraiser, visit the gofundme page here.