Paralysed from the waist down, 34-year-old Ms Castle has always been reliant on others to help her with the business of getting from place to place.

But the arrival of a Chrysler PT Driver car that has been modified to meet her specific needs and which has allowed her to drive for the first time has made her feel liberated.

She has been learning to drive the car and will shortly take her driving test.

"This car will change my life," Warwick resident Ms Castle said. "It will give me more independence than I have ever had.

"It makes me feel absolutely wonderful. I'll be able to go where I want, do my shopping and not have to wait on people. It'll give my sister, Sasha, a break as well!"

The vehicle, which is a conventional PT Cruiser that has undergone thousands of dollars' worth of modifications, was displayed by Ms Castle at the Car & Bike Show at the Number One Shed in Hamilton last Sunday.

Viewed externally, the left-hand drive car, imported by John Powell of Island Motors, appears to be nothing out of the ordinary, but with the flick of a switch, amazing things happen. On the left side of the car, the front door automatically opens while the rear door swings upwards on hinges attached to the roof.

Once the doors have opened a ramp unfolds. Ms Castle can go up in the ramp in her electric wheelchair and come to rest right behind the steering wheel. Another flick of a switch sends the elaborate hydraulics back into action, the ramp folds up and the doors close. Ms Castle drives the car, using a hand-operated contraption that controls both the accelerator and the brakes.

Ms Castle, who worked in a nursery school for five years, is currently studying at Bermuda College for an associate degree in human services, specialising in kindergarten teaching. Her ambition is to open her own nursery school.

"I found out from Curtis Dill at Summer Haven that vehicles like this were available and I did some research and we went from there," Ms Castle said.

"I believe all physically challenged people should know about that this type of vehicle exists and that they do have an option."

Such cars do not come cheap. John Powell, of Island Motors, who imported Ms Castle's car, said that a vehicle like it would have a retail cost of $55,000-$58,000, depending on the complexity of the modifications required.

"Each car has to be designed for a particular person's needs," Mr. Powell said. "In this case we had to go out and buy the PT Cruiser, which you can get for between $15,000 and $18,000 in the US.

"Then we sent it to Freedom Motors in Battle Creek, Michigan, a company that specialises in modifying vehicles. A modification can easily cost $25,000 or $30,000.

"It can cost much more if it's more complicated. There is technology available that allows a car to be driven by buttons in the palm of one hand."

The complicated nature of such modification was clearly illustrated by a major problem during the adaptation of Ms Castle's car.

"At first, every time they closed the doors, the windshield shattered," Mr. Powell said. "The pressure of the doors shutting together was too great.

"They got around the problem by making the system open one of the windows on the right side of the car open while the opposite doors closed, and then shut again immediately afterwards."

Mr. Powell's year-old business, which also imports Smart cars, aims to cater to the vehicular needs of Bermuda's physically challenged. There has proved to be more demand than he had expected.

"I thought I'd get maybe one or two orders a year, but it's amazing how many calls I've had when I haven't even advertised," he said. "I've brought in two cars already and have four more on order, but I think the motorbike will turn out to be the biggest seller.

"It's a bike that people can ride without getting out of their wheelchair. It has three wheels and a ramp at the back and when the weather turns bad, it has a canopy that converts it into a little car."

He also mentioned that a company in Germany was fitting out the compact Smart cars for wheelchair users. The car's front seat swivels around to allow the driver to transfer from the wheelchair to the car seat. Then a robot is used to fold up the wheelchair and pack it into the back of the car.

Mr. Powell described equipment options for the physically challenged as "unbelievable" and said that Britain had progressed much faster on this front than either the US or Canada, partly because the UK Government was prepared to give financial help to those who needed such apparatus.

Mr. Powell said he was fully committed to providing a parts and service back-up for the highly specialised vehicles.

Anyone wanting more information can contact John Powell of Island Motors on 734-8260.