June 20, 2017 1.05 pm
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Former Miss Teen Lincoln joins charity after beating brain tumour
Former Miss Teen Lincoln Eva MacDonald has shared her harrowing brain tumour story after being selected as a young ambassador for The Brain Tumour Charity. At the age of five, Eva’s teacher at Mount Street Primary School in Lincoln (now Mount Street Academy) noticed that her handwriting had deteriorated over the summer holidays and she…
After battling her illness, Eva wants to raise awareness of brain tumours.
Former Miss Teen Lincoln Eva MacDonald has shared her harrowing brain tumour story after being selected as a young ambassador for The Brain Tumour Charity.
At the age of five, Eva’s teacher at Mount Street Primary School in Lincoln (now Mount Street Academy) noticed that her handwriting had deteriorated over the summer holidays and she was referred for hospital scans, revealing she had a brain tumour.
Despite several visits to the GP over 18 months suffering from headaches, nausea, stiff neck and loss of balance, it was thanks to her eagle eyed primary school teacher that Eva finally received the diagnosis.
Eva, now 20, has been selected along with 21 other people all over the country as Young Ambassadors for The Brain Tumour Charity to help raise awareness and defeat brain tumours – the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40 in the UK.
She said: “In 25 years, the head of the GP practice we went to had never seen a patient with a brain tumour before, which meant they were unfamiliar with the symptoms.
“It was a huge shock for my mum, but I was too young to really understand or take it in.”
She had an operation in September 2001 at The Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, to relieve pressure in her brain and, a week later, surgery to remove the tumour.
“Luckily, it was possible to remove the whole tumour,” said Eva, who lives in Lincoln with mum Kirsty, brother Mark, 19, and sister, Isabella, 15.
Biopsy results revealed it was grade 1 (non-cancerous) astrocytoma. Eva had to retake a school year due to the time out for treatment.
“Back at school, I struggled with confidence because of everything I’d been through and I felt isolated because no one else understood what it was like to have a brain tumour,” continued Eva.
After finishing her GCSEs at William Farr School in Welton, she took part in the National Citizen Service (NCS), which boosted her confidence.
“I learned skills such as leadership, teamwork and communication,” said Eva, who now works for the NCS in Lincoln as a mentor.
She also trains as a classical singer and sings at private and public events.
At 19, Eva became Miss Teen Lincoln 2015 and a finalist in Miss Teen Great Britain.
She used her title to find out more about work being done to help people with brain tumours.
“While holding the Miss Teen Lincoln title, I visited a hospice and heard about a child who had been a patient there, terminally ill with a brain tumour.
“That, coupled with my own experience, made me even more determined to help.
“Now I want to use my story to raise awareness about brain tumours and their huge impact on the individual and their families.
“I know that having a brain tumour is truly devastating and living with the consequences can be a struggle.”
Eva is planning fundraising events and has already carried out her first charity photoshoot which took place on Sunday, June 11 and raised over £200.
Now a charity concert is in the pipeline.
Emma Wood, teenage and young adult worker for The Brain Tumour Charity, said:
“We are thrilled to have Eva as one of our new ambassadors and she’s an inspiration for other young people and children living with brain tumours.
“She’s been through the devastating impact of being diagnosed with a brain tumour and how it affects the whole family.
“Now Eva can use that in a positive way to help us raise awareness and support others going through a similar experience.”
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A Lincoln man has been remanded into custody after he admitted failing to comply with the notification requirement of the Sex Offenders Register on three occasions.
Niall Wright, 22, also pleaded guilty to two offences of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which he was obliged to comply with after it was previously imposed on him.
Wright, formerly of Dixon Street, Lincoln, accepted all five offences when he appeared at Lincoln Crown Court via a video-link from Lincoln Prison.
The court heard Wright initially indicated guilty pleas to two offences of failing to comply with the notification requirement of the Sex Offenders Register and one offence of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order when he appeared before Lincoln Magistrates Court on September 21.
Wright appeared at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court again on October 21 when he indicated guilty pleas to two further offences of failing to comply with the notification requirements of the Sex Offenders Register and breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Neil Sands, defending Wright, said the defendant was currently in custody at Lincoln Prison after being recalled to jail under the terms of his licence because of his recent offences.
The court was asked by the Probation Service to adjourn sentence for the preparation of a psychiatric report on Wright.
Judge Catarina Sjolin Knight agreed to adjourn sentence for the preparation of a psychiatric report and remanded Wright back into custody.
Wright will be sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court on January 14 next year.
The 2003 Sexual Offences Act requires offenders on the Sex Offenders Register to notify to their local police certain personal details and information, including their name, address, date of birth and national insurance number.
People flouting traffic laws, driving irresponsibly, and littering from their vehicles have been targeted in an operation aimed at reducing vehicle crime and antisocial behaviour in Grantham town centre.
Operation Indal was a night of proactive action by Grantham officers in partnership with the CCTV and ASB teams at South Kesteven District Council (SKDC) last week, and was developed to respond to issues reported in the town centre which included speeding, racing and excessive vehicle noise.
The operation saw one vehicle seized under SOCAP for having no valid insurance policy, a further two motorists reported for speeding, two more reported for having no MOT, and a further driver reported for driving without due care and attention.
Officers also used the vehicle defect reification scheme (VDRS) to deal with an incident of a front light being out, one driver with a none-compliant exhaust, and a further motorist with a noisy exhaust. The VDRS is a scheme used for minor offences and provides an opportunity to motorists to avoid prosecution by getting defects fixed and examined.
A motorcyclist was issued with a Horti, which requires the rider to produce a certificate to confirm they have passed the initial motorcycle riding course (CBT), and another was reported for not having a valid licence.
Words of advice and education were issued on 13 separate occasions, including: eight people around vehicle modifications; one person for having a cracked windscreen; one person for having a noisy exhaust; and a further three people for their manner of driving.
The operation was developed by PC Emma Faulks. She said: “Vehicle crime and anti-social behaviour has a significant impact on people living and working nearby, and we are always thinking of ways we can challenge and target this behaviour to meet the needs of community.
“As well as dealing with the offenders, we have gathered intelligence which will help us to police these issues in the future, and hopefully provided some peace of mind to those who have been affected by this behaviour. We’re there to protect our communities, and we will continue to monitor the situation in the town centre.”
SKDC’s Neighbourhoods team supported the operation which also resulted in three people being issued £150 fines for littering, directly related to vehicle ASB.
SKDC Cabinet Member for People and Safer Communities, Councillor Annie Mason, said: “This operation was a successful, productive and worthwhile joint exercise.
“It is a good example of our close partnership with the police and of how well we work together to combat these types of issues – and it meets our stated ambition in the Corporate Plan to work effectively with our partners for the benefit of the local community.
“Our CCTV team monitors all of our town centres 24/7 and will continue to support the police with their work to reduce all forms of antisocial behaviour.”
If you have information about a crime, you can report it to us on 101, or by using Crimestoppers anonymously through 0800 555 111. If it’s an emergency, always call 999.
Nearly 2,000 ‘well-paid, high-skilled and sustainable’ jobs are set be created at a new Advanced Manufacturing Park in Scunthorpe being developed by North Lincolnshire Council.
The council has completed the acquisition of a 60-acre site at the edge of Scunthorpe using money from the government’s £3.6 million “levelling up” Towns Fund. It said it will be developing the UK’s first carbon-neutral advanced manufacturing park.
The project, which will create more than 4 million square foot of advanced manufacturing space, will now go through planning. The required infrastructure will be built to connect the site with the nearby M181 motorway.
Aerial view of the 60-acre development site at the edge of Scunthorpe. | Photo: North Lincolnshire Council
The scheme is one of several being developed under the Towns Fund programme, which is overseen by the Scunthorpe Towns Fund Board and is linked to the Future High Street Fund. The money is part of the government’s levelling up agenda.
Around £35 million has so far been committed by government for Scunthorpe through the Town Deal and Future High Streets Fund, plus £12 million for the Burringham Bypass connectivity improvements on the M181, £14 million for flood defence on the River Trent, and £35 million for the new pumping station at Keadby.
Councillor Rob Waltham, leader of North Lincolnshire Council, said: “This is a massively exciting project which will have profound effects on the area for generations. It will create hundreds of well-paid, high-skilled jobs in advanced sectors and will be a globally significant hub for research, development and innovation.
“We are already leaders in advanced steel making and this development will create the right environment for more world-leading businesses to join the North Lincolnshire stable, creating and developing innovative, leading-edge products.
“With the fantastic motorway links and clear ties to the ports complex, access to national and international markets will be immediately available – helped of course further through the government’s flagship freeports project which will help make these companies even more competitive.”
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