LINDON Southcott probably owes his life to a SuperScan.

Puzzled doctors in Blackburn were unable to make a diagnosis on what was causing persistent problems behind his left ear.

Lindon, of Dalby Crescent, Blackburn, had begun to go deaf and he was eventually sent for an MRI scan at Royal Preston Hospital. A speedy diagnosis spotted a swelling on a nerve and Lindon faced an operation at Manchester Royal Infirmary. But he wasn't told until just before the operation that he was having major brain surgery to remove a tumour.

Lindon learned that he was suffering from acoustic neuroma which affects one in 100,000 people. The surgery, which lasted eight hours, was carried out by a leading professor last March.

Lindon, a former mechanic with Blackburn Transport, has since been recovering and is hoping a second MRI scan on March 21 will give him the all-clear.

He said: "I just thought I would be having a snip behind the ear. I never thought I would have brain surgery.

"I was in agony after the operation and I suffered a lot from severe headaches. But I feel I am slowly beginning to get better."

He added: "So many people will benefit from an MRI scanner being on our doorstep. They are marvellous machines."

The £1 million SuperScan appeal is aiming to buy a life-saving MRI scanner for East Lancashire people. It will be based at Blackburn Infirmary.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.