A WHOLE new world has opened up to a delighted Poulton lady who became deaf after contracting meningitis as a baby.

Brave and bubbly Barbara Andrew is one of the first people in Britain to be fitted with a revolutionary hearing device enabling her to hear properly for the first time in years.

To celebrate her newly-found sense of hearing, close friend and confidante Anne Weber took her to see The Lord of the Dance at Blackpool's Opera House.

The cochlear implant or "bionic ear", is a device which is implanted in the skull behind the ear. An external transmitter uses electrical impulses to stimulate the auditory nerve to create the sound being heard.

All this miraculous science has meant a life-changing event for the local grandma-of-three as she explained: "I had it fitted more than six weeks ago now and I still have this beautiful feeling inside me of being able to hear. I can't describe it, but I feel very emotional and full of sheer joy and gratefulness at being able to hear just simple things that I never expected to hear again.

"It really is like a miracle. I was washing pots the other day and wondered what the squeaking noise was and couldn't believe I was hearing the cloth wiping the pots. I can even hear the dog walk across the kitchen floor, it is amazing."

When I asked her what she had missed most about not being able to hear, tears formed in her eyes as she replied: "The silent world I lived in was a very lonely and scary place and one of the main things I missed was music. Music sounds wonderful now, in fact everything sounds wonderful. I would like to thank my surgeon, Mr Saeed, and the whole team who dealt with me at Manchester Royal Infirmary. Also all my family and friends who have been so supportive.

She went on to give a word of advice to others: "Anyone who gets a chance of having one of these fantastic implants must take it. I was initially scared and unsure about it. But it has all been worth it. I have got a new lease life and can't wait until I visit Florida with my husband.

"We have been before, but it will be a whole new experience now."

Her friend Anne, from St Annes, is delighted for Barbara and spoke proudly of her: "She is an exceptional lady and everyone is so pleased for her. She is an inspiration to all who meet her."