A NORTHWICH town councillor has thrown his weight behind a bill proposed by former health secretary Matt Hancock.

The Dyslexia Screening private members bill was introduced in December last year with the ex-cabinet member wanting the UK to be a leader in raising the standards of how children who think differently are identified, taught and assessed.

Unlike Mr Hancock, who was not diagnosed with the condition until he went to university, Cllr Lee Siddall found out he was dyslexic when he was still in primary school.

"I think it's something like one in five children who have got dyslexia," said Cllr Siddall.

"I actually found out during the last year at junior school.

"I'd gone with reading teachers all the way through and never realised why I couldn't read or spell as well as other kids.

"My sister, who is two years older than me, was fantastic at writing, so I just used to put it down to 'I'll get there' but I never did.

"It was only really when I broke my leg and had to have a tutor come to the house and she helped me.

"She then spoke to the school and after that, I was assessed and they came to the conclusion that I was dyslexic."

Being diagnosed at such a young age helped Cllr Siddall overcome any lingering frustrations about why he was behind other children and although it hasn't held him back in life, it is something he still has to manage in his day to day life.

He went on: "Like Matt Hancock has said, I use things like Microsoft Word spellcheck and a thing on my phone called Grammarly.

"When I first started putting things on social media I got quite a lot of people commenting about my spelling and the way I put things together.

"I remember one guy even suggested that I'd had a stroke.

"So you become very concious about how things you write are seen by others.

"It doesn't bother me as much now because it's obviously something I've been dealing with my whole life.

"The one thing I do find is that it probably takes me five times as long to put something together, such as e-mail."

With Cllr Siddall now representing the Winnington and Castle ward on Northwich town council, he is hoping to use his position as a platform to bring about positive change.

"I obviously fully support the bill and don't see any reason why it won't get through Parliament," he added.

"But I want to make sure that when it does go through, the funding is there to be able to help children who are diagnosed.

"If you screen children correctly they also need to be taught correctly.

"Once your diagnosed with dyslexia at least you've got somewhere to hang your coat and say 'there's a reason why I do things I do'."

The second reading of the bill is set to take place in Parliament on March 18.