A YORK woman suffering from a devastating disease which killed both her father and brother is hoping for a massive boost - a trip to see her favourite band Westlife in concert this summer.

The family of Bethany Walters, 26, of Chapelfields, have issued an appeal for help in getting her to the outdoor concert by the Irish pop music icons at Scarborough Open Air Theatre on Tuesday, August 17.

The Press has contacted Scarborough Borough Council to see if it can help make her dream come true and is waiting to hear a response.

Bethany, a former Westfield primary and York High School pupil, was diagnosed with juvenile Huntington’s disease when she was 16 years old.

Her cousin Debbie Embleton said this was a debilitating genetic disease that was terminal, as there was no cure.

“It has caused Bethany to lose her ability to talk and walk,” she said. “Ultimately she is trapped inside a body that causes her pain and spasms every minute of the day.

“She is fed via a tube that goes directly into her stomach and bowel and needs lots of medical support.”

She said Bethany’s dad, Gavin, lost his battle to the adult form of the "hideous" disease and, tragically, her little brother Leo lost his fight at just 11 years old in 2018.

“What Bethany has gone through in 26 years, nobody should have to go through in a lifetime,” she said.

“Her one wish has always been to see Westlife but due to her condition she has missed out on previous tours.

“Now she cannot travel far and all tickets have sold out for their concert date in Scarborough this year.”

She said Bethany’s mum Claire had desperately been trying to give her daughter her wish and asked for people to get in touch with Westlife to see if they could do anything "to make an amazing girl’s dream come true and give her mum, brother and family a lasting memory," adding: “She is so very special and amazingly brave.”

Claire said Bethany had been a fit and healthy child before she started developing problems in her teens. “She started to get a bit clumsy, and falling over and tripping,” she said.

“She got diagnosed at about the same time as her dad did. It’s very rare for it to be diagnosed in someone so young.”

She said Bethany had always liked Westlife and had every one of their CDs, and she had bought a signed photograph of the band for Bethany online a few months ago.

She said Bethany had "grinned from ear to ear" when she heard she might be able to go and see the band in concert.

Westlife’s concert will come just four days before the band’s headline show at Wembley Stadium and will be their only outdoor performance in the North of England this summer.

An NHS spokesperson said Huntington’s disease was a condition that stopped parts of the brain working properly over time, and was passed on from a person’s parents.

They said the symptoms usually started at 30 to 50 years of age, but could begin much earlier or later, and could include difficulty concentrating and memory lapses, stumbling and clumsiness. There could also be involuntary jerking or fidgety movements of the patient’s limbs and body.