A TEENAGER who has laid in a coma for six months following a horror car crash has shown the first signs of waking up.

Sophie Wilkinson has amazed her family and doctors by beginning to respond to voices and focusing on those around her.

As celebrities continue to line up to help the 17-year-old, her parents say it is still very early days and Sophie still has a very long way to go.

Since the crash last October in Swanmore, where she suffered life-threatening head injuries, Sophie, fromBishop's Waltham, has remained in a coma.

But over the past few days she has started to become aware of what is going on around her, focusing on people, responding to voice commands and making vocalisations.

Her delighted parents are thrilled but say now is the crucial time to get their daughter listening to as many different voice recordings as possible to make sure she continues to improve.

Dad Andrew said: "Sophie is improving every day, becoming more and more aware. She can raise her arm when asked and she is now making vocalisations.

"It's really, really great. There have been lots of tears. It is just unbelievable how she is fighting on.

"Every day we visit her with various bits of news about all the celebrity support she has and all the news about the charity ball. I am sure that buzz has helped to unlock something inside her.

"For so long she had shown little improvement but this has re-energised us all. But now we need more voices to keep her going as there is still such a long way to go."

So far Andrew and Alison have had a good response from their calls for famous voices to record physical commands, to set up their new charity Wake Up.

As revealed by the Daily Echo, Hollywood heartthrob Johnny Depp, Sharon Osbourne and Richard Hammond have all pledged their support with This Morning presenter Fern Britton the latest to sign up.

Andrew added: "We have had lots of promises from people but only a few have actually sent recordings.

"Now that Sophie is showing signs of responding to certain voices it's the critical time to get her listening to as many different voices as possible.

"That is why our Wake Up charity is so important because people in the future will not have to wait like we are at this vital time.

"Having all the voices in a bank will mean we can get them to the families quicker and celebrities only have to do one recording."

For tickets to Sophie's gala charity ball on July 5 and help raise £300,000 e-mail tickets@sophies-gift.com.