A fundraiser has been launched for a British carer who suffered life-threatening burns while trying to rescue an elderly woman from the devastating Almeria wildfire.

Michelle Leake, who has lived in Spain for more than 20 years, remains in a specialist burns unit at Virgen del Rocio Hospital in Sevilla after suffering burns to more than 40% of her body.

According to her family, Michelle underwent life-saving surgery on Tuesday morning and remains heavily sedated on a ventilator, with doctors said to be particularly concerned about damage to her lungs as well as her extensive burns.

Writing on Facebook, Jeanette Lowe, administrator of the Almeria/Granada Expat Group, said: ‘I’ve been talking to the family of Bedar resident Michelle Leake who is the worst affected burns victim with over 40% of her body damaged.

‘Michelle is at the special burns unit at Sevilla hospital and underwent life-saving surgery this morning.

‘Doctors are extremely concerned about her lungs as well as her horrific burns.’

Michelle’s sister, Sharon, has now launched a GoFundMe appeal to help support her long recovery.

According to the fundraiser, Michelle was working as a carer for an elderly woman in the village of Bedar when the wildfire spread with devastating speed.

The pair attempted to escape by car but found the road ahead blocked by advancing flames.

‘Circumstances meant they had to leave their car and as Michelle helped the lady out of the vehicle, a fireball swept towards them, leaving them with devastating injuries,’ the appeal states.

Both were eventually rescued after being pulled into another vehicle and taken to safety before Michelle was airlifted the following day to Sevilla in a life-threatening condition.

Her family said she faces months – if not years – of treatment, rehabilitation and recovery, and is unlikely to be able to return to work for the foreseeable future.

Michelle, who lives alone in Canjayar, has spent years caring for elderly residents in the area.

‘She has always worked hard, lived independently, caring for elderly people in the area,’ her sister wrote.

The appeal aims to raise money to cover Michelle’s everyday living costs, household bills, travel expenses, rehabilitation and specialist care during her recovery.

‘Our goal is to ease the financial burden so that Michelle can focus entirely on healing,’ the fundraiser says.

In a final show of generosity, Michelle’s family added that if she is unable to survive her injuries, any money raised will instead be donated back to the local community she spent years serving, helping others rebuild after the catastrophic wildfire.

At the time of writing, the fundraiser had raised more than £1,245 from 37 donations towards its £3,500 target.

Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.