A woman whose golf ball-sized brain tumour was misdiagnosed by doctors for six months is determined to raise awareness of the condition.

Kirsty Lockett, from Blairgowrie in Perthshire, started to experience severe head and neck pain in June 2017, and although she sought medical advice numerous times her symptoms were repeatedly put down to stress and anxiety.

The brain tumour was finally discovered in December last year when Kirsty was rushed to hospital after collapsing at her parents' house.

Now the 42-year-old is determined to help others with the disease by sharing her story.

Kirsty and her husband Lee will take part in The Brain Tumour Charity's Twilight Walk in Edinburgh on October 7 - a 10k event uniting hundreds of people of all ages whose lives have been touched by a brain tumour diagnosis.

"I first started to experience symptoms when Lee and I were on holiday in Dorset," she said.

"I started to get head and neck pain like nothing I'd ever experienced. My head felt under pressure and my eyes were sore to move."

Kirsty contacted NHS 24 who ruled out a neurological problem but advised her to see a Dorset GP.

"The GP said I had a 'cervicogenic' headache which was causing tightness around my skull and the pain in my neck and head," she added.

"The only relief I had were painkillers and heat packs and I limped through the rest of the week before driving back to Scotland."

Kirsty was still in severe pain when she got home so went to see her GP who prescribed her with anti-anxiety medication and advised her to see a physiotherapist.

She was also signed off of work for a week.

As August approached Kirsty's symptoms became almost unbearable.

"Some friends came to stay for a local beer and rugby festival. I tried to soldier on but was struggling to keep things under control and my head pain had started again," she continued.

"I ended up spending the weekend in bed and don't really recall anything until about three days later."

Things got worse mid-August when Kirsty fainted in the bath and was taken to A&E, where her symptoms were again put down to emotional stress.

She was prescribed with beta blockers and signed off work.

In October, after a further GP consultation and a new diagnosis of migraine, Kirsty sought counselling but by this point her health problems were affecting her work.

She said: "I was struggling in the mornings and my time-keeping was slipping so my manager agreed that I could start later and we discussed delegating some of my work."

In November, Kirsty was signed off from work for a third time for anxiety, her weight plummeted and she struggled with fatigue and constant pain in her head.

Things came to a head in December when Kirsty collapsed.

She was rushed to Ninewells Hospital where a CT scan finally revealed a brain tumour requiring emergency surgery.

"Everything that had happened now made absolute sense; a tumour the size of a golf ball was putting extreme pressure on my right frontal lobe - the emotional centre of my brain," she added.

"When I woke up from surgery, despite the fog of the drugs and the trauma to my brain, I knew that I had my head back and that 'I' was back.

"Despite the brutality of the surgery and extensive bruising there were absolutely no headaches, no anxiety.

"It was euphoric and like seeing the world for the first time again."

Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer in people under 40, but less than 2% of the £500m invested in cancer research is spent on brain tumours.

Kirsty was devastated to be told the tumour was cancerous and only 80% had been removed during surgery.

She had to undergo six months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which ended in August, but she is determined to remain positive.

Kirsty, who plans to return to work in October, added: "Unfortunately the malignancy in my head is not curable and at some point in my future it is going to want to regrow.

"It probably will mutate and become more aggressive and less treatable but I'm just extremely grateful to still be here, to be alive."

She continued: "There's no cure for brain tumours and no-one can tell me how much time I have.

"It has therefore become hugely important to me and those around me to support The Brain Tumour Charity who champion the cause.

"I have a lot to be thankful and positive about to come out the other side of something like this with no cognitive impairments is amazing.

"And as ridiculous as it sounds I am actually fitter and healthier now than I have been for quite some time!

"I have received incredible love and support from my family, friends and colleagues and I have even made new friends through this."

Although Kirsty is taking place in the Edinburgh charity walk, people can also stage their "own walk" any time in October, on a day that suits everyone in your fundraising group.

Director of fundraising for The Brain Tumour Charity, Geraldine Pipping, said: "We receive no government funding and rely entirely on voluntary donations and gifts in wills, so it's only thanks to supporters and their family and friends that we can progress towards our twin goals of doubling survival and halving the harm caused by brain tumours."