An English woman has told how she woke up with a Welsh accent despite never visiting the country.<br /><br />Zoe Coles, 36, developed the new accent overnight six weeks ago but thought it would eventually wear off.<br /><br />However it still hasn't and the mum-of-two is often asked if she's from Cardiff - when she actually lives in Stamford, Lincs,.<br /><br />Zoe has also said that she's never been able to do a Welsh accent or roll her R's - until now.<br /><br />She has said she now gets 'anxious' when leaving the house as she feels like she 'doesn't fit in anymore' because of her new voice.<br /><br />She is now appealing for medical help to try and 'cure' her baffling conditiont.<br /><br />Zoe said: "I'll be about to go into the shops and I get anxious because I don't fit in around here anymore - we're not in Wales.<br /><br />"I got stopped in Tesco a couple of weeks ago and a man told me he could fall asleep listening to my accent. <br /><br />"I had to tell him that I woke up with it and it wasn't my accent and he laughed it off. <br /><br />"Because they've never heard of this, they stare.<br /><br />"I've never been to Wales, I've never able to roll my R's, I've never been able to put on an accent and it's crazy.<br /><br />"People ask me where I'm from and they start guessing Cardiff or Bristol and I'm not from anywhere - I'm from Lincolnshire."<br /><br />Before her voice, changed, Zoe worked as a bartender at a Wetherspoons pub but because of her accent, she's had to quit her job. <br /><br />Zoe, who is mum to Zak, 16, and Brooke, 11, said: "I didn't want to go in with my new accent because the regulars would be saying I'm having them on. <br /><br />"And when people would get drunk, I knew I would be a target.<br /><br />"I tried to drive to work one day and I just had a massive anxiety attack and I just couldn't go in. <br /><br />"I thought it was best to leave and then I can always go back when I'm ready."<br /><br />Zoe was diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), a condition where there is a problem with how the brain sends and receives signals in January 2022.<br /><br />Because of this, Zoe often has ticks, memory problems, slurred speech and chronic pain in her legs. <br /><br />But now she thinks she has Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS) - a rare condition where people develop speech patterns that are perceived as a foreign accent.<br /><br />Less than 107 people in the world are believed to have had FAS since 1907 and Zoe has been struggling to find any information on the condition.<br /><br />Zoe, who is engaged to fiancé Lee, 39, said: "I've been trying to ask my doctor for more information but they just don't have any.<br /><br />"I shouldn't have to Google the condition for information about it - I should be told by my GP or a neurologist.<br /><br />"Something is clearly going on in my brain.<br /><br />"I was meant to have a MRI scan but I was absolutely terrified and had a massive panic attack before it.<br /><br />"But my GP won't re-book me one because they've said I don't need one as I've been diagnosed with FND.<br /><br />"So they haven't even tested what's going on in my brain."
