Brain tumour 'could have blinded singer'

The opera singer Russell Watson was at risk of going blind if his brain tumour had gone untreated for much longer, his spokeswoman said yesterday.

The singer, known as The Voice, had surgery to remove the tumour this week. The tumour, a pituitary adenoma, was not cancerous but was pressing on Watson's optical nerve and would "almost certainly" have destroyed his eyesight.

Watson, 39, was said to be in "good spirits" after the five-hour operation at St George's Hospital in Tooting, south London.

The former factory worker from Salford, Greater Manchester, was discharged on Thursday.

He was recording an album in Los Angeles when he fell ill, suffering from headaches and impaired vision. He underwent tests and had to wait two days to discover whether the tumour was malignant. He continued recording while waiting for the results.

He returned to the UK for the operation to remove the 3in (8cm) tumour, carried out by Henry Marsh. Watson, who begins a UK tour in November, is expected to make a full recovery.