Lincolnshire Woman Wakes Up With Welsh Accent

A woman From Lincolnshire has revealed has she woke up one morning with a Welsh accent, despite never ever visiting Wales.

36-year-old Zoe Coles, 36, reported that she woke up about six weeks ago and was shocked to discover that overnight she had developed a new accent, writes Wales Online, Friday, July 14.

Newly Acquired Welsh Accent Caused Anxiety Attacks

The Lincolnshire mother of two had hoped that it would wear off, but six weeks later it hasn’t. Now she is often asked if she’s from Cardiff, and until the mysterious overnight phenomenon took place said that she’s never been able to do a Welsh accent or roll her R’s.

Because of her new condition, she has also suffered from anxiety attacks and said that she feels like she ‘doesn’t fit in anymore’ because of the way she speaks.

‘People ask me where I’m from and they start guessing Cardiff or Bristol and I’m not from anywhere – I’m from Lincolnshire,’ she said.

Zoe, who is mum to Zak, 16, and Brooke, 11, worked as a bartender at a Wetherspoon pub said: ‘I didn’t want to go in with my new accent because the regulars would be saying I’m having them on.

‘And when people would get drunk, I knew I would be a target. I tried to drive to work one day and I just had a massive anxiety attack and I just couldn’t go in.’

In 2022, Zoe was diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND). According to NHS Inform it is ‘a problem with how the brain receives and sends information to the rest of the body.’ Because of this, Zoe often has ticks, memory problems, slurred speech and chronic pain in her legs.

Online Appeal For Help

However, there is a condition known as Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS), an extremely rare condition where people develop speech patterns that are taken as a foreign accent. Reportedly, only around 106 people in the world are believed to have had FAS since 1907.

Zoe’s doctor referred her to a specialist at the St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in London. But unfortunately, she has been declined as she doesn’t live in the catchment area.

She has resorted to social media in an appeal for an expert or neurologist to come forward and provide help.