A brain tumour survivor from Chester is backing the relaunch of a campaign so symptoms can be spotted early.

University of Chester graduate Hannah Jones, of Westminster Park, knows that early diagnosis can save young lives.

She was just 15 and in the midst of her GCSE studies when she learnt she had a brain tumour.

Hannah had to undergo three major operations, chemotherapy and radiotherapy and suffered a stroke which left her unable to walk or feed herself.

But she made an astonishing recovery and now campaigns for greater research to be conducted into brain tumours.

She has even raised more than £200,000 through The Hannah Louise Jones Fund, and now she is throwing her support behind The Brain Tumour Charity once again as it relaunches HeadSmart, its UK-wide campaign to reduce diagnosis times of childhood brain tumours.

Hannah said: “We need to act quickly because the more people who are aware of brain tumour side-effects, the more lives we can save.

“I am very lucky as doctors put my side-effects down to epilepsy but sent me for a scan ‘just in case’.

“With brain tumours being the biggest cancer killer but research is the most poorly funded compared to other cancers, it is surely most important to spot it as soon as we can.”

HeadSmart’s relaunch – which includes a website – was held at the Royal College of General Practitioners in London, where doctors took part in a special workshop.

Potential symptoms include vomiting, balance problems and unusual eye movements, but vary across age groups.

Newly-added symptoms – after a review of all the evidence showing the most common signs of childhood brain tumours – include increasing head circumference in under-fives and loss of vision across all age groups.

Hayley Epps, campaign manager for The Brain Tumour Charity, said: “Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children in the UK.

“HeadSmart has two aims: to save lives and reduce long-term disability by bringing down childhood brain tumour diagnosis times.

“Relaunching the campaign will help us to achieve that goal by alerting more healthcare professionals, parents and young people to the signs and symptoms of the disease.”

HeadSmart is run as a partnership between The Brain Tumour Charity, The Children’s Brain Tumour Research Centre and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.