A SCUBA diving teacher who was diagnosed with five brain tumours following a routine eye test is highlighting the importance of regular eye checks.

Katherine Dance, who teaches scuba diving on the Greek Island of Ios, had her eyes tested in Basingstoke whilst visiting her family in the town.

The 42-year-old was found to have an 'incomplete blink' which could be a symptom of a thyroid problem.

She was advised to have a blood test which came back negative, but further investigations were carried out and a CT scan eventually showed a number of masses in her head.

An MRI confirmed the presence of five meningiomas (brain tumours).

Six weeks later she was admitted to hospital in Crete where she underwent 14 hours of surgery.

It was discovered that one of the tumours had grown into the bone, requiring the complete removal of the affected area.

She awoke after four days in intensive care to find a large piece of her skull had been removed, along with a piece of bone behind her right eye.

Katherine said: "Unfortunately, because of the swelling caused by the operation, I was also experiencing some stroke-like symptoms. I was blind in my right eye, my left hand was unresponsive, my speech was slurred and the left side of my face had dropped slightly. Speaking was very, very difficult so I was glad that my husband and I had previously learned sign language and could communicate perfectly."

As the swelling reduced, Katherine's sight returned and most of the stroke-like symptoms disappeared.

She said: "Unfortunately they didn't go away completely and every day I still have periods where I am unable to see properly - usually when I'm tired or stressed."

Katherine is now awaiting further surgery to remove more of the bones.

It is hoped this will allow the pressure to be relieved from the brain so the swelling reduces, which should relieve the stroke-like symptoms and fully restore Katherine's sight.

She said: "I will need to go back in for more surgery to replace the missing pieces of skull with artificial bone, which is going to be 3D printed in the US. Depending on the type of material they use, the doctors foresee a complete recovery, which will allow me to return to doing all the active things I love."

She added: "We look into our eyes in the mirror every single day but it takes a professional to determine how healthy they are. It is often too late to wait until a problem becomes noticeable to ourselves. An optometrist can see what is really there, so regular eye tests are absolutely vital."