The mum of a “severely epileptic” toddler has pleaded to the public for donations towards funding life-changing private treatment.
19-month-old Tia Holt has been diagnosed with a severe complex epilepsy.
Before this recent diagnosis – which is said to have “drastically affected Tia’s lifestyle” – and after spending a total of 11 days in hospital, where she had seizures ongoing for seven hours in clusters, doctors at the Royal Blackburn Hospital had previously found Tia to have a combination of three types of epilepsy – including a rare form of Infantile Spasms – but are now at a loss of what to do going forward.
This has lead her mother, Chloe Cox, to make the vital decision to seek private treatment.
Speaking to The Lancashire Telegraph on the recent diagnosis, which “didn’t come as a shock” but was nevertheless “upsetting”, Miss Cox said: “We got an EEG put in place and [the doctors] came back that to say Tia had got worse with multiple types of epilepsy.
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“She has anything from 50 to 200 little episodes a day.
“It’s classed as a disability and it’s like looking after a baby because she cannot sit up or walk [so] it’s very hard”.
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She continued: “[Tia] was crying and screaming because they scare her and the doctors did not know what they could do to help her, so I found a private hospital where they have a dedicated specialist in epilepsy in children”.
Miss Cox has identified a specialist able to offer “life-changing” treatment to Tia at the Cheadle-based The Alexandra Hospital, but sadly, the costs – which start at £150 to £250 for the first appointment, with numbers tallying up as treatment plans and appointments continue – are not affordable for the mum alone, which is why she has launched a GoFundMe appeal to raise the funds needed.
“It just feels like we are back to square one.” Chloe added.
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“They still do not know if she will be able to walk, so we are just taking it day by day [but we haven’t] got months to wait [as] it could affect her brain”.
Although Chloe admits that Tia still continues to smile and laugh because “she is used to the seizures now”, she has said that her “biggest fear” is that the toddler will one day have a seizure that is so severe she “won’t be able to get her out of”.
Over £3,400 has been raised for Tia’s treatment via the GoFundMe page so far, which Chloe has said she is “so overwhelmed” by.
There is still some way to go before hitting the crucial £5,000 target, but Miss Cox has also made sure to say that as donations continue to rise, any extra funds that are raised above the target amount that is needed, will then be “donated to a children’s epilepsy charity… [to] help other children with this awful illness”.
Every penny counts, and all donations can be made here.
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Stockport County are hosting huge World Cup screenings at Edgeley Park
Danny Jones
Stockport County are set to host one of the biggest World Cup screenings in Greater Manchester this year, with the nearby football club opening up their very own ground at Edgeley Park to host some huge watchalong parties.
And before you ask, no – you won’t be watching from the pitch, sorry.
Still, a dozen large TVs, loads of great street food and free-flowing drinks, not to mention plenty of stadium-level atmosphere, we’d absolutely call this the next best thing.
With the 2026 World Cup and a whole summer packed with sporting tournaments coming up, ‘The Hatters’ will be creating their own home camp to help cheer on the national squad.
As you can see, while you won’t quite be out of their on the turf for yourselves, and outrageous ‘scam’ ticket prices mean even fewer England supporters will likely be flying out to watch the boys in person, the Stockport side will be doing their best to create a proper good crowd.
Taking over the County Courtyard – the team’s dedicated social hub for before and after games, which opened back in 2022 – the local League One side will be turning this into a Three Lions fan zone for each and every game they play in the tournament.
Fingers crossed they give us plenty of rounds to witness, eh?…
Anyone who’s been to Edgeley Park‘s County Courtyard or simply even seen the scenes online will know how busy this place can get on a matchday, so just imagine what it will be like with the big screens showing the all-important games.
With resident cult figure ‘Chef John’ cooking up street food scran inspired by the cuisine and cultures that will be hosting this year’s World Cup, and a special, not to mention brand-new, US-inspired beer in collaboration with natives Runaway Brewery, it’s a great lineup – we just pray Thomas Tuchel matches it.
Credit: Publicity pictures (supplied via Stockport County Football Club)
Doors open at 6pm for all fixtures, and The Courtyard will remain open until midnight; with tickets starting from just a fiver for the group stage, you’d be foolish not to at least consider it.
If England do make it through to the knockouts, each following fixture will obviously be shown on the box, too, with tickets then rising to £10 per game (Edgeley Park is also a fully cashless venue).
You can find out more information about what will be on offer and find the ticket link right HERE.
As for Stopfordians and regular season ticket-holders, they’ll no doubt be gutted to hear that manager Dave Challinor has now departed SK3 after a hugely productive five-year stint – here’s hoping a great World Cup can help lift some spirits.
Memories that will last a lifetime 💙
We wish Dave and his family every success in the future – they will always be welcome back at Edgeley Park 🙌 pic.twitter.com/ZxcH5Keag9
— Stockport County (@StockportCounty) June 1, 2026
Featured Images — The Manc Group/Stockport County FC (supplied)
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Two towns around an hour away from Manchester named ‘most affordable’ places to buy your first home
Emily Sergeant
Two towns that are around an hour away from Manchester have been named among the ‘most affordable’ places to buy your first home.
It’s all according to the latest analysis by consumer watchdog Which?, and Lloyds bank.
Getting onto the property ladder remains a struggle for many first time buyers, especially following increases to mortgage rates since the start of spring – but where you buy can make a huge difference, according to Which?, and now new research from Lloyds has revealed the cheapest areas to buy your first home.
Some of the locations on the list are even averaging less than half the price of homes in London, proving the North West is where you want to be to get your foot on the property ladder.
According to research from Lloyds Bank, the most affordable place for first time buyers in the UK is East Ayrshire in Scotland.
But when it comes to the North West, Blackpool is not only the most affordable area in region – ranking at number three on the list – but it’s also the cheapest in the whole of England too, beating Kingston upon Hull by just a few hundred pounds.
Two towns around an hour away from Manchester have been named among the ‘most affordable’ places to buy your first home / Credit: Benjamin Elliott | Maria Ziegler (via Unsplash)
The average first time buyer price in Blackpool is £150,780, according to the research.
Following Blackpool, ranking at sixth place on the list, is Hyndburn in Lancashire – which is actually a local Government district with borough status, that encompasses towns like Accrington and Great Harwood – with an average first time buyer price of £155,911.
Along with the most affordable areas for first time buyers, Lloyds has also calculated the areas with the youngest first time buyers too – and the North West also takes that title,
In the UK as a whole, the average age of a first time buyer is now 32, however buyers in some parts of the country are getting onto the property ladder much earlier than others, particularly in more affordable areas outside major cities.
The area with the youngest first time buyers is the Ribble Valley, according to Lloyds.
The largest town in this Lancashire district is Clitheroe, on the edge of the Forest of Bowland National Landscape, and in less than 40 minutes by car, you can get to Preston, Blackburn, and Burnley, so it’s a pretty well-connected place for also being so affordable.
Emily Sergeant -
3rd March 2021 
