Former Wakefield Express photographer 'humbled' at support for MND fundraiser

Scott, 58, has lost his speech and was given a working diagnosis of MND last year.

Scott's 20-year-old son Alex and his uncle Steve Tweedle completed an arduous fundraising walk as 'Team Merrylees' in June to raise funds for the MND Association.

Family and friends joined in sections of the walk, which raised more than £13,000.

The MND Association sent Team Merrylees a certificate of Appreciation, which read: "We are incredibly grateful and you should be very proud."

Scott, who uses a typing system to communicate, said: "It seems I have some very good and generous friends.

"We Initially looked to raise £2,000 but smashed that. Quite humbled that people cared.

"The fundraiser put me in touch with old friends from the past including an old school pal I hadn’t seen for over 40 years."

The dad-of-two said it MND is very difficult to diagnose and said he is undergoing tests at the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease in Leeds to rule out other conditions.

He said: "It is usually done by MRI scans, blood tests lumbar puncture etc to rule out other conditions that can mimic it.

"However I’m still looking at a final diagnosis of MND for certain."

Scott said he has been invited to bang the drum to set off Sir Kevin Sinfield on one of the legs of his next 7 in 7 challenge at end of September.

Alex, a Hallam University student, and Steve completed the 35 mile walk in a day.

It included ascent the equivalent to climbing Ben Nevis and passed through 20 villages in the Peak District.

Scott started work at the Wakefield Express series in 1989 aged 20 and went on to lead a team of photographers across West Yorkshire titles.

In 2018, he become a freelance photographer and qualified drone operator. He also lectured on photojournalism at two Sheffield universities.