‘I’d do a bungee jump from the town hall to save it’

WHEN Lynne Tunney says the community Ring and Ride service saved her life, she speaks from the heart.

Following a brain aneurysm in 2001, her optic nerve was crushed and she was registered blind. Forced to retire from her job as a receptionist and adapt to a completely new life, Lynne became afraid to leave her house.

But in 2005, a light broke through the clouds - in the form of the Ring and Ride lifeline.

Grandmother of five Lynne, 57, from Ashton-under-Lyne, said: “Before then I hadn’t been out for years because I was so frightened.

“Then one day my sister talked to me. She said ‘why don’t you phone the swimming baths and go back to your swimming?’”

Lynne made the call - and the receptionist suggested she call Ring and Ride. “Well, I’m very good with numbers,” added Lynne, “So I remembered the number and phoned them straight away. It was a Sunday afternoon.

“She registered me and said she’d see me on Tuesday. And they picked me up that day in May 2005, and I’ve been using them ever since.”

From living as a virtual recluse, Lynne has turned her life around. Ring and Ride now takes her to swimming, WI classes, a walking group and other classes.

Lynne added: “I swim three times a week. I see friends, I walk. It’s completely revolutionised my whole being.

“My whole persona has changed, all through Ring and Ride.

“I’d go as far as to say, because of where I was in 2005, if it weren’t for Ring and Ride I wouldn’t be talking to you now. I was in a dark, dark, place but I turned the corner. It took a while - it didn’t happen overnight.

“But Ring and Ride are wonderful. From the customer service people to the drivers, each and every one of them - they’re like extra members of my family.”

Now, Lynne’s husband Peter, 70, also uses the service after suffering a stroke. It means he and Lynne can go shopping together rather than rely on others.

In August, Lynne will start paying a fare for the first time as part of new cost-saving measures.

But Lynne insists, as long as the service continues, she will pay whatever it takes.

“The price is not paramount - if I have to pay full price I will - the most important thing to me is being able to get where I’m going on community transport.

“If Ring and Ride was at risk I’d do a bungee jump from the town hall to save it. It’s fantastic.

“From where I was to where I am now, you wouldn’t think I was the same person.”