South Shields Town Hall turns green to raise awareness of cerebral palsy

Mark Beadle was keen to highlight the condition his 18-month-old son Ethan has been diagnosed with as part of World Cerebral Palsy Day on Saturday.

The 28-year-old had written to a number of venues, and when the day arrived he was left in awe at the number of places that got on board. 
Among the buildings lit up with a green glow was South Shields Town Hall.

Nissan, where Mark works, also shone a green light above its main entrance.

He said: “I felt quite proud. Everything I do, I do for Ethan, and it was really nice to see the local area lit up in green.

“I took Ethan to a few of the places. Obviously he is too young to understand what it was all about, but he was impressed by it all.

“He did like the green lights.”

Mark, who lives with wife Alice in Biddick Green, South Shields, added: “It was really nice of Nissan, where I work, to light up the place in a green light.

“Initially, I thought a couple of hundred people would see the lights in the area and maybe look more into cerebral palsy.

“But Nissan sent out a message to all its employees and 7,500 people who work for the company, so even if only 10 per cent look further into it, it’s a lot more than I ever thought we would reach.”

Sunderland City Council also lit up a number of landmarks, including Penshaw Monument, the Northern Spire bridge, Keel Square, High Street West and the lighthouse in Cliffe Park.

Ethan was diagnosed with left hemiplegia cerebral palsy last year.

Mark said: “It’s the first time I have ever done anything like this before. But I’ve seen South Shields Town Hall lit up in different colours for a variety of reasons, so I thought I would ask.

“I’m hoping to do it again next year, but maybe get a few more places on board, and I also plan to write to London City Council to see if anything could be done with the London Eye.”

Coun Tracey Dixon, lead member for independence and wellbeing at South Tyneside Council, said: “By lighting up our beautiful, iconic Town Hall, we are helping to shine a light on this condition and raise awareness of it.”