Syrian refugee living in Flitwick features in new music video by Anne-Marie

A Syrian refugee who started a new life in Flitwick after escaping war-torn Syria is now featured in a major music video by Anne-Marie WATCH BELOW

Called Beautiful, the video has already been watched by millions and stars Dema Aktaa, who lost her leg in a bombing at her village in 2012.

She arrived in the UK in 2017 and began walking and running with a new prosthetic limb - her training sessions are even featured in the video.

Dema helped to raise thousands of pounds for the Help Refugees campaign in a sponsored event and as a result in March 2020 was welcomed into the Lionhearts squad linked to the England football team

Last year, Bedford Today revealed how she had set her sights on the next Paralympics

Now aged 27, Dema and her sister Nour both joined English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes at Bedford College in 2018 and went on to successfully achieve qualifications.

Martin Tobutt, lecturer at the ESOL department, said he and colleagues had been watching Dema’s “inspirational” progress with interest.

He said: “The traumas of Syria’s civil war, both mentally and physically could have left these two as introverted and melancholy people, yet the opposite was true.

"They could fill a room with radiant smiles and so much positivity that anyone else had to wonder whether we have any right to complain about our lives.”