A grandmother is celebrating her first New Year with her restored eyesight after a successful battle to get a sight-saving drug.

Shortsighted in both eyes all her life, Lesley Fletcher, 56, a catering assistant at Airedale General Hospital, Steeton, has undergone a series of injections to save her left eye which was deteriorating fast.

With the help of the Macular Disease Society and a presentation in Parliament, she was given the drug Avastin to treat her condition – myopic macular degeneration.

Miss Fletcher has just completed her treatment which involved four injections in her left eye over the last 12 months.

She said: “It’s fantastic – it has taken the vision back to what it was like before I was diagnosed. I’m so happy.

“My partner and I have 11 grandchildren between us. Now I’ll be able to see them grow up properly.

“Your eyesight is so precious. It’s only when you start to lose it that you realise how valuable it is.

“I knew that Avastin could help me and took up the fight when I knew that some health authorities in the country financed the drug but Bradford and Airedale did not.”

Following her campaign, the trust agreed to finance the treatment, agreeing that her condition met with the eligibility criteria set out in NICE guidelines.

“I think this is a lesson for everyone: never give up if you think you have a good case. It’s worth it in the end,” said Miss Fletcher of Park Drive, Sutton, near Skipton.

Her ordeal began in 2009 when she found she could barely see out of her left eye. Tests showed she had bleeding behind the eye and she was suffering myopic macular degeneration.

She was told that drug treatment was important to save her sight but later learned it would not be financed.

To delay the progress of the disease, Miss Fletcher was given laser treatment, which helped, but she continued her fight for the Avastin drug treatment.

The Macular Disease Society is demanding national guidelines about who should be allowed care and who should receive drug treatment. The society’s helpline is on 0845 241 2041.