A young Moray woman battling an incurable illness has spoken of her delight at smashing her fundraising target.
Lucy Lintott, from Garmouth, has collected more than £100,000 for a charity dedicated to finding a cure for Motor Neurone Disease in less than two years.
The 20-year-old was diagnosed with the degenerative condition in November 2013, and rapidly formed a bucket list of goals she wished to achieve over the coming years.
Top of that agenda was raising £100,000 to fight the disease – and Miss Lintott was left gobsmacked on Thursday night when she realised the tally had topped that sum.
The campaign has touched the hearts of residents across Moray, who have generously boosted Miss Lintott’s efforts.
And yesterday she revealed that the pledge which took her past the ambitious marker came about through a neighbour in her home village.
She said: “The donation that took me up to and past £100,000 was from the Marathon Oil company in Aberdeen, who gave me nearly £11,400.
“Every year that company raises money for a different charitable cause and this year they chose mine.
“My next door neighbour’s son works for the firm, and it was him who suggested that they donate the money to my campaign.”
Miss Lintott said she remained in a state of disbelief for hours after securing the amount she once believed to be a distant dream.
She added: “When I woke up this morning, the first thing I said to my mum was ‘did yesterday really happen?’
“It’s not quite sunk in yet, and I really just want to let everyone who donated know how much I appreciate it.”
Next month, Miss Lintott will visit Glasgow for a country music festival – where she hopes to celebrate her good news by meeting her favourite singer, Miranda Lambert.
Last September, Miss Lintott defied the limitations of her condition by travelling to Australia with friends and taking part in a series of exciting adventures.
During the trip she dived in the Great Barrier Reef and met a range of exotic animals.
Miss Lintott says she will continue raising funds for MND Scotland in the hope that it can one day find a cure for the debilitating affliction.
Anyone who wishes to contribute to her fundraising campaign can do so by visiting www.justgiving.com/Lucy-Lintott1