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Lyra Cole: Brain tumour survivor, 7, hoping for ‘dream come true’ charity Christmas number one

Written by on 27/11/2020

A seven-year-old girl, who had a brain tumour “the size of an orange” successfully removed when she was a baby, is hoping for a Christmas number one to raise money for charity.

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Lyra Cole from Highbridge, Somerset, is releasing a cover of Shakin’ Stevens’ Merry Christmas Everyone, after beating Stormzy in the official download charts with another festive single, When A Child is Born, in 2019.

She said: “It was so exciting recording and promoting my Christmas song last year and I came so close to making it to number one (she was pipped to the post by LadBaby’s track I Love Sausage Rolls!).

Lyra continued: “It would be a dream come true if it happened this time, but most of all I just want to raise lots of money for Brain Tumour Research and help other families like mine.”

Her aunt, a creative director at media company The Digital Ladder, helped her record her single.

Jessie Hawkes said: “Lyra is such a superstar. We were so proud of her success in the Christmas charts last year and she had so much fun in the process, we thought why not do it all again?

“It’s been a tough year for so many people and we hope that Lyra’s track will bring joy.

“It represents a story of hope, as she has overcome so much in her short life.”

The video for the song, which was filmed on The Grand Pier in Weston-Super-Mare, features Lyra and her brother Charlie, three, running around the arcade dressed up as elves.

She was just five months old when she had her brain tumour removed, and had another procedure the following year to restore her sight after struggling to see.

Brain Tumour Research, which will receive all proceeds from the single, has said that Lyra has a “story of hope”, but that “many others are not so fortunate”.

(c) Sky News 2020: Lyra Cole: Brain tumour survivor, 7, hoping for ‘dream come true’ charity Christmas number one