Miracle of Dunblane

25 years after school massacre, survivor Amy hopes tot will help ease trauma

- LOUIE SMITH

AFTER witnessing the horrors of the Dunblane massacre first hand as a child, Amy Bestwick feared she would never get over the trauma of that murderous day.

But with the help of a pioneering eye movement therapy, the 33-yearold has finally overcome her nightmare – and is due to give birth on the 25th anniversary of the horror.

Amy was just eight when deranged Thomas Hamilton, 43, walked into Dunblane Primary School and murdered 16 children aged between five and six and teacher Gwen Mayor with four handguns on March 13, 1996.

She still remembers hiding underneath another teacher’s desk after watching as bullets flew through a hallway window metres away.

Amy suffered decades of mental health problems but now has hope for the future.

She is also looking forward to the birth of her first child, a daughter, next month. Amy said: “She is actually due on March 13, it’s a crazy world. There’s no saying she will arrive then but just that being my due date is very special. There will never be anything that takes away from the pain of people who lost loved ones at Dunblane.

“But for me her birth means happiness and something beautiful can come out of that day.”

Amy’s life has changed dramatically for the better over the last three years. She has started a new career, fallen in love with partner Ryan, 33, and is winning her battle against PTSD after undergoing integral eye movement therapy.

Amy added: “I spent 22 years dealing with unprocessed trauma, 22 years of living in a state. But now I feel amazing and I’ve got so much to look forward to in my life.

“I’m so secure and loved and happy. I have got everything I could wish for.”