NICL Assistant Regional Language Test 2025 Author: Sarkari Exam Team Tag: Graduate Job Short Information : National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) has release the Regional Language Test on its official website. Recently NICL has declared the RLT Examination schedule for the aforsiad recruitment Now the Regional Language Test has been announced. The Regional Language Test is ... Read more
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NTA CUET PG Correction / Edit Form 2025 Author: Sarkari Exam Team Tag: 12th Pass Admission Form Short Information : National Testing Agency (NTA) has released the Correction / Edit Form for the Common University Entrance Test CUET PG 2024 online application for admission 2025. Online applying process for NTA NCHM JEE Admission 2025 has ... Read more
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NTA JEE Mains Session-I Result Key 2025 Author: Sarkari Exam Team Tag: JEE Mains Exam Short Information : National Testing Agency (NTA) has recently announced the result for Engineering Course as B.Tech/ B.Arch Through JEE MAIN 2025 (Session-I) Admission 2025. After the successful completion of Exam Procedure now NTA has announced the Result for the ... Read more
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JSSC JMLCCE 2023 Answer Key Author: Sarkari Exam Team Tag: Graduate Job Short Information : Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) has released the Answer Key for the Jharkhand Matric Level Combined Competitive Examination – JMLCCE 2023. This recruitment has been issued for 455 posts. Applications for JSSC JMLCCE Recruitment 2023 were filled from 04 July ... Read more
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CSIR JSA & Stenographer Recruitment 2025 Author: Sarkari Exam Team Tag: 12th Pass Job Short Information : CSIR Central Drug Research Institute CDRI has recently published the official notification for the recruitment of Junior Secretariat Assistant JSA and Junior Stenographer Posts on the official website of CDRI. This recruitment has been issued for 11 posts. ... Read more
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CHARLES Hanson’s wife today told a court how she was “paralysed with fear” after the TV star “grabbed” her throat while she was pregnant.
The Bargain Hunt presenter, 45, is accused of assaulting his wife Rebecca every six months over a ten-year abuse campaign.
This included putting her in a headlock, throwing a phone at her and grabbing Rebecca’s arm so tightly he left fingerprint bruises, it is said.
Giving evidence today, Rebecca said Hanson attacked her in the kitchen of their home in 2012 while she was pregnant with a child she tragically later lost.
She told Derby Crown Court: “I was in my dressing gown, we were having an argument about something and I threw a tiny box which landed about two inches in front of him and he went for me and got me around the throat.”
Rebecca said the alleged assault “realistically” lasted for around four or five seconds but felt longer.
She said she was “absolutely petrified”, adding: “I was frozen, paralysed with fear.
“He was shocked at what he had done, there was no explanation, I could not believe what he had done.”
Rebecca also told the jury there were around 14 or 15″ different incidents involving arguments or violence during their marriage.
She said the Covid lockdown was a “bit of a nightmare for us” as Hanson “got angry a lot”.
The court heard yesterday how Hanson, who also appears on Flog It! and Antiques Road Trip, married wife Rebecca in 2010 – two years after they first met.
Stephen Kemp, prosecuting, said the marriage “started off happily” but the auctioneer began “using violence against his wife”.
This pattern of violence continued every six months over the “next ten years or so”, it was said.
During one alleged attack in 2015, Hanson gripped his wife so hard in the middle of a row that she was left with three fingertip bruises on her arm.
She told jurors it felt “really painful” and she called her dad in “floods of tears”.
When asked by Mr Kemp why she did not phone the police instead, Rebecca continued: “When it starts, you hope it is going to end.
“He apologises, you think it is going to get better, you have a bit of hope.”
Hanson is charged with two counts of assault causing actual bodily harm and one of controlling and coercive behaviour.
The TV star, who denies the charges, is also accused of two counts of assault by beating.
The star, who first appeared on Bargain Hunt in 2002, was charged on December 14.
Police had been called to his six-bedroom home in a picturesque Derbyshire village in the summer.
It is understood Hanson has since moved out of the house, which he shared with Rebecca, 40, since 2014.
Hanson’s career started in the ceramics and glass department at Christie’s in 1999.
He appeared on Bargain Hunt in 2002 and became the youngest expert on the team aged 25.
POLLY Kerridge felt a warm glow as she watched her children exploring their new home.
It had taken years of preparation, meetings and parenting classes and at last she was able to call these two children son and daughter.
Aware of their difficult start in life, Polly* was sure she would be able to give the brother and sister the life they deserved.
Never for one moment did she imagine that four months later she and husband Andrew* would be saying goodbye to their adopted children for good.
“The idea of giving them back never even entered my mind and the reality was horrific,” Polly tells Fabulous.
The couple of 12 years never wanted children of their own and instead longed to provide a loving, safe home to youngsters in need.
“I had no interest in carrying a baby and I felt like I had the right experience to support a child who had experienced trauma,” Polly says.
“I had been through trauma myself during my teens and I had come out the other side, and I wanted to help another child to do the same.”
The couple began looking into adoption in 2017 and say they were under no illusion that they would be getting a “perfect” child.
Polly, now 43, says: “We certainly didn’t go into the experience blind.
“I used to get frustrated when I’d meet couples looking for a ‘perfect’ child. It was unrealistic.”
Both Polly and Andrew were informed of the type of behaviour and conditions they might expect from an adopted child.
But she says it was a far cry from the reality of what was really needed.
“We had training in dealing with trauma and the impact of foetal alcohol syndrome,” Polly explains.
“The way this was discussed made it sound like these were extremely unlikely scenarios.”
In November 2023 the couple’s dream came true when they were matched with Billy*, five, and his sister Ava*, four.
“Our social worker implied they were the ‘Holy Grail’ of children to adopt,” Polly says.
“We took every parenting course available to us and readied ourselves for the kind of children we thought we were welcoming into our lives.
“We knew there had been alcohol abuse and domestic violence but we were not prepared for the level of trauma that turned up on our doorstep.”
Polly and Andrew welcomed their two children into their home April 2024 believing that this was the start of their new family.
However, she says it was a matter of days before she realised that Billy’s needs were far greater than she had been led to believe.
“It was very push and pull, sometimes he’d want us with him, other times he wouldn’t want anything to do with us,” she says.
“He seemed to need control over the household and would try to manipulate us and his sister.
“I believe this was the only way he felt safe.”
Worried about their son integrating, Polly says she made the first call to their social worker, asking whether they could be referred for a trauma assessment with Billy.
However, they were told this wasn’t possible until Billy had been with the couple for six months.
He looked me dead in the eye lifted my top up and tried to bite me
Polly Kerridge
With no other option, Polly continued to parent her two children to the best of her ability but it was just few weeks in that Billy began to lash out.
“I was a little taken aback but I didn’t think loads of it because I was aware that he was experiencing constant change,” she says.
“But it escalated into regular biting, kicking and punching, and throwing things around the lounge.”
Polly says his behaviour was becoming increasingly threatening.
“A couple of months in Billy had begun threatening to kill us,” she says.
“One evening Billy tried to pull his sister out of her high chair, so I took her upstairs to safety.
“When I came back downstairs he was holding a knife.
“I’ll never forget what my social worker said when I mentioned it: ‘It’s only a butter knife’.”
There is no UK-wide data, but most sources put the figure at between 3% and 9%.
That’s still hundreds of families, and obviously each one is agonising for everyone involved.
The terms adoption ‘break down’ and adoption ‘disruption’ are disliked by families whose children are no longer living with them, because they often continue to parent their children at a distance, with regular ongoing contact between them.
Source: Adoption UK
Polly says that the stress of parenting quickly put a strain on both herself and Andrew.
“Within a couple of months I had lost a stone-and-a-half,” she says.
“My mum said I just looked desperate, and that’s exactly how I felt.
“I was sending daily emails to our social worker but continually the help we asked for never arrived.”
As the couple waited for therapy, they tried their best to carry on until one incident saw Polly hit breaking point.
“We were on our way home and Billy threw his scooter on the floor,” she remembers.
“He told me to pick it up and I just said ‘no’, there had to be some boundaries.
“He responded by urinating on our carpet in the living room.
“On one occasion after a disagreement over a toy he looked me dead in the eye lifted my top up to try and bite me.
“I was constantly on edge waiting to be attacked or to need to get his sister out of harm’s way.”
I was frightened of my son
Polly Kerridge
Polly sent a desperate email to Regional Director of Social Services explaining they could not continue as they were.
But rather than receiving the support they hoped for they were met with a heartbreaking decision to put the children back into care.
“I was frightened by my son at that point,” Polly says.
“We had a strong bond with our daughter but the decision was made to keep the siblings together.
“I wish we could have stayed parents to our daughter and we could have had a relationship with our son.
“Now we have no contact with either of them.”
A week after Polly sent the email, her two children left her home forever.
“I will never be able to describe the utter shame and heartbreak I felt in that moment,” she says.
“Our daughter told me she loved me as we said our goodbyes, I think she knew she wasn’t coming back.
“The thought of giving these children back when we welcomed them into our lives was unimaginable, it still feels so unreal.”
In the weeks that followed, Polly and Andrew struggled to readjust to their old lives.
“The gravity of it was so huge to process,” she says.
“I don’t even want to live in the same area anymore.
“I was embedded in the community, I made friends at my son’s school, the parks, the cafes, everything is tainted with memories of them.”
It has been six months since Polly last saw her children and she says the disruption has had a lasting impact.
“I’m now of an age where I wouldn’t consider having children of my own,” she says.
“The experience we had means I wouldn’t adopt again, I’m not even sure we’d be allowed to.”
Polly has since discovered that there are thousands of families experiencing the same thing.
In the UK, there is lengthy process involved with adopting a child and it can take up to six months for the paperwork to be finalised.
To even be considered, you have to meet the following criteria:
You will also have to go through an inital background check and assesment, which will consider whether you are the right fit for adoption.
Potenital parents will also have undergo training and a process to match them with the right child.
She worked with the campaign group PATCH (Passionate Adopters Targeting Change with Hope) which was created to ensure children and families gain access to the right services and the right interventions following adoption.
“It was enormously comforting to know that we weren’t alone in our situation,” Polly says.
“But equally it was enormously worrying that so many families are being let down by this system.
“Andrew and I wanted to take on a child who could benefit from our help and love now that child is back in care.
“I’m not here to shame Billy. He did nothing wrong. He’s a child and he was just as let down by the system as I was.
“I believe everything happens for a reason and this happened to me so I could use my tenacity to make a change in the system.”
Fiona Wells, founder of PATCH comments: “The true scale of the adoption crisis is being overlooked, whether by denial or neglect.
“Hundreds of adopters share their struggles with PATCH, revealing a system that removes children due to trauma yet fails to provide the support needed for recovery.
“At the core of this failure is a critical oversight: a child’s history is ignored until trauma manifests in crisis yet then this crisis is blamed on parents for not managing complex trauma symptoms.
“PATCH is amplifying the voices of adopters failed by the system. Too many care plans, regardless of permanence, overlook the critical need for recovery, repair, and acknowledgment of trauma, adversity, loss, and harm.”
*Names have been changed. Polly received no payment for this article.
WILLIE MULLINS has pulled two huge names out of Cheltenham Festival altogether – as he slashed his number of runners across several key races.
The Closutton boss will not run Tony Bloom’s Ile Atlantique at next month’s blockbuster meeting after he was scratched from the Arkle and Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase.
And multiple Grade 1-winning machine Impaire Et Passe won’t be on the boat either, after he was cut from the same two races.
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Mullins has taken a sword to his masses of runners across the four-day Festival.
Today marked the scratching stage for a number of Grade 1 contests, including the novice races.
Another big name to miss out was Mistergif, who was third fav for the Arkle but removed from that race.
Below is every runner Mullins has pulled from each race today.
Most, if not all, have multiple entries, which means their target is being narrowed down rather than they are missing Cheltenham altogether.
Willie Mullins’ scratched runners
Supreme
Belloccio
C’Est Ta Chance
Final Demand
Kaid D’Authie
Kalix Delabarriere
Karafon
Redemption Day
Soir De Garde
Zillow
Arkle
Ile Atlantique
Impaire Et Passe
Mistergif
Champion Hurdle
Anzadam
Kitzbuhel
Kargese
Turners Novices’ Hurdle
Belloccio
C’Est Ta Chance
Irancy
Jasmin De Vaux
Kalix Delabarriere
Karafon
Karniquet
Soir De Garde
Brown Advisory
Chapeau De Soleil
Ile Atlantique
Impaire Et Passe
Stayers’ Hurdle
Gala Marceau
Triumph Hurdle
Legionnaire Forez
Lincoln Du Seuil
Albert Bartlett
C’Est Ta Chance
A responsible gambler is someone who:
Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here.
THE nation’s broadband providers have been ranked from best to worst on reliability.
A survey conducted by Broadband Genie, involving 3,200 broadband users nationwide, has shed light on which providers deliver the most dependable connections.
Consumers were asked to rate their supplier based on whether or not they have experienced outages.
BT leads the pack with 81% of customers reporting no outages, followed by TalkTalk at 77%. Plusnet, Virgin Media, and Sky follow with 72%, 70%, and 69% respectively.
Hyperoptic, Vodafone, and EE trail behind with 65%, 63%, and 60% of users experiencing uninterrupted service.
It’s worth noting that this survey focuses solely on outages and doesn’t consider other factors like speed or customer service.
If you experience significant broadband outages, you might be eligible for automatic compensation.
Ofcom regulations stipulate that providers participating in the automatic compensation scheme must compensate customers for total loss of service, delayed repairs, missed appointments, and delayed service activation.
Under the scheme, internet providers typically pay £9.76 for each day that broadband and phone services remain unrepaired after an initial two full days of no service.
Additionally, if you experience a prolonged loss of service, you may have the right to terminate your contract without incurring any fees.
However, it is worth noting that only BT, EE, Hyperoptic, Plusnet, Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin Media, and Vodafone are currently part of the automatic compensation scheme.
If your provider is not a participant in Ofcom’s scheme, you will not be eligible for the £9.76 daily compensation.
That said, you may still be able to seek compensation directly from your provider by lodging a formal complaint and demonstrating that the issue has caused you financial harm.
Peter Ames, broadband expert at Broadband Genie, said: “It’s pretty shocking that in 2025 even the most reliable broadband provider in the UK still sees 19% of its customers experiencing broadband outages.
“If this level of service was delivered by other essential utilities, serious questions would be asked.
“We always recommend that consumers check independent reviews, especially in their area as provider reliability can vary by location, and at the very least ensure their provider is signed up to Ofcom’s automatic compensation scheme.”
All providers have been contacted for comment.
Broadband Genie’s research comes as millions of telecom customers face price hikes of up to 15% this year.
This comes despite new Ofcom regulations designed to protect consumers.
While these rules require telecom companies to clearly state mid-contract price rises in pounds and pence, rather than linking them to inflation, many customers will still see inflation-linked increases in 2025, depending on their contract start date.
BT, which also owns EE and Plusnet, said that from March 2025, the price of mobile contracts will rise by £1.50 a month (SIM-only) or £4 (handset plans).
Broadband tariffs will go up by £3 a month and £2 for TV.
But, the provider has assured vulnerable customers on BT Home Essentials contracts that they will be exempt from any price rises.
The pounds and pence rise will apply to contracts taken out from April 10, 2024.
For those who took out a deal before this, a 6.4% rise will apply (3.9% and January’s inflation rate, which was 2.5%).
Plusnet will also increase its broadband price by £3 per month from the end of March for contracts taken out after July 11, 2024.
For contracts started prior to this date, a 6.4% hike will apply.
Vodafone mobile phone customers will see their bills rise by £1.80 a month while Home Broadband customers will see prices hiked by £3.
These pounds and pence rises will apply to contracts taken out after July 2, 2024.
For bills prior to this date an inflation linked price rise of 3.9% plus January’s inflation figure will apply. This rate is due to be announced on February 19.
The new prices will apply from April 1.
Vodafone has said that price increases will not be applied to customers who are identified as financially vulnerable or those on social tariffs.
For Vodafone broadband customers bills will rise by £3 on contracts taken out after July 22, 2024.
For those taken out prior to then, an inflation linked price rise of 3.9% plus January’s inflation figure will apply. This rate is due to be announced on February 19.
Three has said broadband increases will be capped at £2 and mobile prices between £1 and £1.50 depending on the data allowance.
The pounds and pence rises will apply for contracts taken out after September 8, 2024.
For those before rises are set at 6.4% (3.9% and January’s inflation rate, which was 2.5%).
Customers of 02 mobile will pay £1.80 more on contracts started after January 9, 2025.
For those taken out before, an inflation linked price rise of 3.9% plus January’s inflation figure will apply. This rate is due to be announced on February 19.
Customers of Virgin Media will pay £3.50 more on contracts started after January 9, 2025.
For those taken out before, an inflation linked price rise of 3.9% plus January’s inflation figure will apply. This rate is due to be announced on February 19.
Tesco Mobile said someone on a £14.99 a month a deal would see their monthly contract price increase by 90p in April.
While, customers on a £30 a month deal will see their basic monthly price increase by £1.80.
That’s for contracts taken out after December 17, 2024. On those before this date, prices will rise 6.4% (3.9% and January’s inflation rate, which was 2.5%).
Sky said this week broadband and TV bills will rise by 6.2% from April 1.
While the new Ofcom rules require providers to specify future price rises in pounds and pence upfront, it only applies if they are linked to inflation.
Sky’s are not, so it can go ahead with a percentage increase.
For example, if you currently pay £39 per month for Sky TV, Netflix, and Full Fibre 150 broadband, your bill will increase by £2.42, bringing the total to £41.42 a month.
The same rises will apply to NOW Broadband, which is owned by Sky.
If you’re on a broadband and mobile social tariff, you won’t see an increase to your bills because Sky and Now has frozen its tariffs.
Out of contract Sky Mobile customers will see bills rise by £1.50 a month.
Those in contract won’t see a rise.
SWITCHING contracts is one of the single best ways to save money on your mobile, broadband and TV bills.
But if you can’t switch mid-contract without facing a penalty, you’d be best to hold off until it’s up for renewal.
But don’t just switch contracts because the price is cheaper than what you’re currently paying.
Take a look at your minutes and texts, as well as your data usage, to find out which deal is best for you.
For example, if you’re a heavy internet user, it’s worth finding a deal that accommodates this so you don’t have to spend extra on bundles or add-ons each month.
In the weeks before your contract is up, use comparison sites to familiarise yourself with what deals are available.
It’s a known fact that new customers always get the best deals.
Sites like MoneySuperMarket and Uswitch all help you customise your search based on price, allowances and provider.
This should make it easier to decide whether to renew your contract or move to another provider.
However, if you don’t want to switch and are happy with the service you’re getting under your current provider – haggle for a better deal.
You can still make significant savings by renewing your contract rather than rolling on to the tariff you’re given after your deal.
If you need to speak to a company on the phone, be sure to catch them at the right time.
Make some time to negotiate with your provider in the morning.
This way, you have a better chance of being the first customer through on the phone, and the rep won’t have worked tirelessly through previous calls which may have affected their stress levels.
It pays to be polite when getting through to someone on the phone, as representatives are less inclined to help rude or aggressive customers.
Knowing what other offers are on the market can help you to make a case for yourself to your provider.
If your provider won’t haggle, you can always threaten to leave.
Companies don’t want to lose customers and may come up with a last-minute offer to keep you.
It’s also worth investigating social tariffs. These deals have been created for people who are receiving certain benefits.
WHEN life gave Lina Nielsen lemons, she sprinted straight to the Olympics.
The 28-year-old was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 17 years old, leaving her terrified of disability.
Doctors gave her “pitying looks” and a list of lifestyle changes for what Lina thought was an “old man’s disease”.
For nine years, Lina kept her diagnosis a secret, even from her own twin sister, Laviai – who has since also been diagnosed with MS but has not experienced symptoms.
But now she is ready to raise awareness of the condition through a new campaign with Sanofi and the MS Society.
Lina tells Sun Health: “I had dreams of becoming an Olympian, and suddenly, everyone around me was questioning if those dreams were even possible.”
Spoiler alert – they were. Lina would go on to win a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics for the 4 x 400m relay.
It came after Lina fell into the last hurdle of the 400m hurdle semi-final, leaving her collapsed in heartbreak on the track.
Leading up to it, Lina had suffered panic attacks while in the Olympic village, terrified her condition would attack just before the race.
It’s exactly what happened two years prior before her World Athletics Championships heats in Oregon, in which she ran with numb legs.
While she currently is living without symptoms, they could strike at any moment and there’s no way to tell how long flare-ups will last.
Lina says: “I’m really fortunate that I’ve made full recoveries from my relapses. I’ve got no ongoing symptoms at the moment, living completely healthy.
“But I live with that uncertainty every day. That could change in a year or tomorrow….It’s really difficult to navigate and it’s about being brave.
“There is no way of knowing how it will manifest in the future.”
The misconceptions around her condition mean people ask Lina why she doesn’t compete in the Paralympics instead.
“One comment that I’ve had multiple times on various kinds of social media platforms is, why do I not compete in the Paralympics,” she says. “And I think that just kind of encapsulates the misconception people have about MS.”
When I was in my early 20s, I was paralysed with fear, no pun intended.
Lina Nielsen
Even Lina admits she was shocked when she was diagnosed, not fitting what she believed someone with MS looked like.
She recalls: “I had just touched on the topic of MS in my biology classes and from the get-go, it was a picture of a man in a wheelchair.
“So when I was diagnosed, I thought, ‘This can’t be me’, because the last time I heard about MS, it was an old man in a wheelchair.
“It’s not older men that get commonly diagnosed, it’s actually younger women.”
Some of the biggest misconceptions about MS are that it is a terminal illness or that it causes muscles to waste away until a person is left in a wheelchair.
Some 67 per cent of people believe that people with MS cannot run, and 44 per cent believe they cannot walk, according to a 2025 survey commissioned by Sanofi.
While MS is considered a disability under the Equality Act 2010, and it can have a debilitating impact on people’s lives, it is a highly variable condition.
The symptoms range from mild to severe and Lina has what’s called relapsing-remitting MS, which has flare-ups and periods of remission.
Lina tried to detach herself from the condition in fear that it would impact her career.
She says: “I was just trying to be a normal 17/18-year-old.
“Back then, I had right-sided paralysis, so that affected my whole life.
“At the school that I went to, I was known as the ‘girl with the lift key card’. So if anyone was going to lift, I was the girl who had the key card because I couldn’t climb the stairs.
“Then that was the label that was given to me in school, by people I didn’t even know. So I quickly realised that labels will just get attached to you.
“I volunteered at the 2012 Olympics, and all my idols were Olympians.
“I wanted to be a sports person as good as them – I didn’t want to be known as ‘a sports person who has MS’.”
But the stigma she felt has shifted and she now feels a “social responsibility” to show what real people with MS look like – and that can be an Olympian.
It is estimated there are over 150,000 people with MS in the UK, around one in every 400 people.
I had panic attacks and anxiety attacks in the village, which I did not plan for, did not even think it was going to happen
Lina
You’re not born with symptoms of MS.
If you develop MS it’s usually diagnosed in your 30s or 40s, according to the MS Society.
But it can also develop earlier or later than that. There’s currently no way to tell whether someone will develop MS later in life.
The NHS says you may be more likely to get MS if:
Only a third of people are aware that MS is an autoimmune neurological condition, with over half (54%) believing it to be a muscular degenerative condition.
MS causes the body’s immune system to attack nerves, which can cause symptoms of numbness or tingling, dizziness, muscle cramps, spasms and stiffness and balancing difficulties.
It can also cause fatigue, problems with vision, memory, concentration and more.
Lina says: “It’s human nature to put everything in one box and say people who have MS will have disability.
“But I know so many people who live with MS, whose symptoms are fatigue day-to-day so it just means navigating the workplace a bit differently.
“Some people have never had physical disabilities, but vision problems or things like vertigo. I’ve had double vision and blurred vision in the past.”
Lina first experienced symptoms at the age of 13, a sudden weakness in her left arm.
But it wasn’t until she had a flare-up aged 17, causing full-body mobility issues, that her symptoms were looked at more closely – and she got her diagnosis.
She recalls crying the whole day, her future dreams shattered.
“There were two people, a consultant and a nurse, and they both looked at me with pitying eyes and asked me to think about lifestyle changes, and that I needed to take it seriously,” Lina says.
“I was treated as a minor so they spoke to me in a way that was quite condescending.”
Lina continued to train, despite doctors telling her to slow down, and participated in several national events, mainly 400m hurdles.
She was added to the Great Britain team in 2024, and in July of the same year, suffered her biggest flare-up yet.
It was the day before her World Championships debut in Oregon in July.
Lina says: “It affected movement completely, I was experiencing disability. I went out and raced anyway, and was three or four seconds slower.”
Lina finished last in the race despite the fat her whole left side was numb and her right side starting to weaken.
Unbeknownst to her, it hugely affected her psychologically, which became apparent by the time the 2024 Olympics rolled around.
Lina says: “I had panic attacks and anxiety attacks in the village, which I did not plan for, did not even think it was going to happen.
“But there’s a psychological aspect of it… ‘I could, face disability again’, or something could happen. I could get a relapse or a symptom, and it would completely squash my dreams.
“Because of the anxiety, I had a stiff diaphragm. That meant I couldn’t move my hip flexors properly and I had to change my stride pattern in the race.”
Heartbreakingly Lina fell at the last hurdle of the 400m semi-finals, landing on the track and coming last place.
“It was a deep fear that I didn’t realise was going to show up in the Olympic Games,” said Lina.
“But on a day-to-day basis, more so now that I’ve lived with it for close to 15 years, I’m not that scared of it anymore.
“When I was in my early 20s, I was paralysed with fear, no pun intended.”
Lina won’t know when her next flare-up hits.
And doctors can’t tell her if she will get secondary progressive MS, which can follow relapsing remitting.
It means symptoms are there persistently and get slowly worse.
Lina says: “A lot of us who have been diagnosed live with a bit more purpose because we just know how quickly life can just change.
“So in a way, it’s given me purpose to continue chasing my dreams in sports.
“MS is unpredictable, but understanding how it affects you personally can help you navigate it.”
MS without Barriers is a campaign by Sanofi supported by Lina Nielsen which aims to raise awareness of multiple sclerosis and address misunderstanding and stigma. For more information about MS visit mssociety.org.uk
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a complex condition that affects the central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord.
It’s an autoimmune disease, meaning the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the protective coating (myelin) around nerve fibres.
This disrupts the flow of electrical signals and causes a range of symptoms that can vary wildly from person to person.
The good news? MS isn’t a death sentence, and with advances in treatment, many people live full and active lives.
In the UK, over 130,000 people are living with MS, and around 7,000 new cases are diagnosed each year.
It’s typically diagnosed in people in their 20s and 30s, with women three times more likely to develop it than men.
Despite its challenges, many with MS find strength and resilience they never thought possible.
Common symptoms of MS are:
MS is unpredictable—you might have periods of remission where symptoms vanish, followed by flare-ups when they return.
This “on-again, off-again” nature can be frustrating and means people can be in anticipation of a flare.
While there’s no cure yet, treatments like disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), physiotherapy, and lifestyle changes can help manage symptoms and slow progression.