An English woman says she woke up with a Welsh accent despite never visiting the country.
Zoe Coles, 36, developed the new twang overnight six weeks ago – but thought it would eventually wear off.
However it still hasn’t faded.
The mum-of-two is often asked if she’s from Cardiff – when she actually lives in Stamford, Lincs,.
Zoe has also said that she’s never been able to do a Welsh accent or roll her R’s – until now.
She has said she now gets ‘anxious’ when leaving the house as she feels like she ‘doesn’t fit in anymore’ because of her new voice.
She is now appealing for medical help to try and ‘cure’ her baffling conditiont.
Zoe said: ‘I’ll be about to go into the shops and I get anxious because I don’t fit in around here anymore – we’re not in Wales.
‘I got stopped in Tesco a couple of weeks ago and a man told me he could fall asleep listening to my accent.
‘I had to tell him that I woke up with it and it wasn’t my accent and he laughed it off.’
Before her voice, changed, Zoe worked as a bartender at a Wetherspoons pub but because of her accent, she’s had to quit her job.
Zoe, who is mum to Zak, 16, and Brooke, 11, 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.
‘I thought it was best to leave and then I can always go back when I’m ready.’
Zoe was diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), a condition where there is a problem with how the brain sends and receives signals in January 2022.
Because of this, Zoe often has ticks, memory problems, slurred speech and chronic pain in her legs.
But now she thinks she has Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS) – a rare condition where people develop speech patterns that are perceived as a foreign accent.
Less than 107 people in the world are believed to have had FAS since 1907 and Zoe has been struggling to find any information on the condition.
Zoe went to the doctors about her new accent and was referred to a specialist at the St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in London.
But because she doesn’t live in the catchment area, her referral has been declined and she’s not been given any help by the NHS.
Now she is appealing for an expert or neurologist to come forward and help her find an answer, as she feels like ‘nobody is concerned’ about what has happened.
Zoe said: ‘Why is nobody concerned that I’ve woken up with a Welsh accent?
‘Surely someone should be concerned – this is not normal.
‘A lot of people think it could me a mental health problem but because nobody knows anything about it, people are just guessing.
‘I want a definite answer – I can’t be the only person that would come forward for testing.’
Zoe has said that now she’s been speaking with a Welsh accent for six weeks, she’s picked up certain Welsh phrases such as putting ‘so it is’ after every sentence.
People are shocked when they find out what has happened to her voice, and often ask her to do an impression of Nessa Jenkins from the TV show Gavin and Stacey.
But Zoe has also said that now she’s ‘nicer to be around’ and ‘jolly’ because of her new voice.
She said that when she first woke up and her accent had changed, it actually sounded German.
Zoe said: ‘I don’t know it was a German accent but it sorta sounded like that at first.
‘I thought “God help me”, I knew I didn’t want to be stuck with that accent.
‘Then overnight, I got a really strong Welsh accent and it’s stuck since.’
A St George’s spokesperson said: ‘Our specialist neurology team has replied to Ms Coles’ referring doctor and we await their response on the future of her care.’
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