text: Most people give up chocolate for Lent but one businesswoman decided to use her 40 days to change the lives of others - after almost losing her own. Triathlete Charlotte Roach, 26, from London, who nearly died in a horror crash, gave up ordinary clothes for Lent to raise money for the charity that saved her life. Along with her business partner Rosemary Pringle, 28, the pair vowed to sport only fancy dress costumes for 40 days to fundraise for London's Air Ambulance. Charlotte Roach and her business partner Rosemary Pringle dressed up in different costumes for every day of lent to raise money for the Air Ambulance Service which saved Charlotte after she was involved in car accident in 2010 . The two women rated buskers in London's Trafalgar Square while dressed as Simon Cowell, rode the Tube as Baywatch lifeguards and even pitched to clients in their pyjamas. Charlotte, co-founder of fitness company Rabble, owes the charity her life after a crash in November 2010 left her with punctured lungs, 12 fractured vertebrae, broken ribs and a broken collarbone. The fitness fanatic had been out cycling near Melton in Leicestershire in a bid to make the 2012 Olympic triathlete team when her bike collided with a Land Rover. She said: 'When I went down, nobody on my team saw it, so they just assumed I'd taken a tumble and I'd be fine in a minute or two. 'Luckily, the car behind us was driven by a physio for Leicester Tigers' rugby team and she took a look at me. Charlotte continued: 'She could hear a gurgling sound when I spoke, which was the sound of blood seeping into my lungs. Charlotte and Rosemary dressed up as Simon Cowell one day and rated performers in Leicester Square . The two women larked about dressed as Reindeer in some shrubbery . 'Effectively, I was drowning and I was running out of time to live. Her quick thinking probably saved my life.' Charlotte was airlifted to Royal Derby Hospital, where medics battled to pull her back from the brink of death. She underwent emergency spinal surgery and extensive reconstructive work. Doctors warned she may never walk again, but determined Charlotte worked hard at her rehabilitation. She said: 'In my head I thought as soon as I got home, it would all be okay, but when I got home I couldn't really move. 'I still had holes in my chest that needed to be re-dressed and repacked by doctors every day. Charlotte (left) and Rosemary (right) wore a series of different costumes, here Rosemary is dressed as Harry Potter . Charlotte said that the pair had a lot of different reactions, from laughter to confusion . The former triathlete said that with some of the costumes it was hard for people to tell whether they were dressed up or not . 'One day, despite my mum's protests, I decided to walk to the doctors. My neighbour had to come round to tie my shoes as I couldn't bend down. 'I started walking but had to stop after around 400m. That's when it hit home how little I could do.' Following the accident, Charlotte, who had left university to train as a triathlete full time, was dropped by her former sponsors. 'I wanted to prove I could get back to where I used to be, fitness wise,' she said. 'The less people believed in me, the more determined I became. 'I later found out that, after the accident, doctors called my parents to say I may not survive. I think I was the only person who didn't think I was going to die.' Larking about on a Boris bike Charlotte dressed up as a clown . Following her accident Charlotte was left with severe injuries and had screws put into her spine . Slowly, Charlotte began to repair herself. While easing herself back into exercise, she stumbled upon the idea for Rabble, a fitness company that disguises exercise as games like capture the flag and dodgeball. 'While I was recovering from my injuries I thought to myself: "exercise as an adult really sucks." It can be repetitive, isolating and boring. 'I wanted to recreate that feeling of playing out with your mates as a kid.' It was the Rabble members that birthed the idea of the fancy dress challenge. 'We were coming up with fun ideas of what to give up for a Lent. A few were chucked around but none really stuck,' said Charlotte. For this costume Charlotte joked about as she was dressed up as a robber . The girls went about their daily lives whilst dressed in the costumes, including going to work and going to meetings . 'Somebody suggested [giving up] clothes as a joke and at first I thought: 'that's the kind of thing that gets people arrested,' but then we decided to give up normal clothes instead. 'We forget we're wearing costumes until we get weird looks. People do react quite differently. Some laugh, and some almost look disgusted. It depends on the outfit as some aren't obviously fancy dress. 'Our most embarrassing moment so far was meeting with a big, corporate bank in our pyjamas. At first, they wouldn't even let us in the building.' In August 2012, Charlotte cycled 16,000 miles from Beijing to London, raising £10,000 for London's Air Ambulance. Now, she is keen to keep donating. 'I owe the Air Ambulance my life. I wouldn't have survived without them,' she said. 'At the very least I want to donate enough to save someone else life.' For this look they used toilet roll to turn themselves into mummies .
target: Charlotte Roach was nearly killed in a horrific car accident in 2010 .
  For lent she decided to dress in fancy dress to raise money for charity .
  Charlotte's business partner Rosemary Pringle did the challenge too .
  The pair wanted to raise money for the Air Ambulance Service .