Rosie Watson dies.

TRIBUTES have been paid to a disability campaigner following her death after a long illness.  Rosie Watson, 50, from Darlington, was well known in the town for the time and effort she gave to many charitable organisations.

Profoundly deaf, she was a passionate campaigner for disability rights in education, having successfully fought the discrimination she faced while studying at Durham University.  Her case against the university, which was settled out of court with a £25,000 payout, received national publicity, which she hoped would pave the way to improving access to higher education for other deaf students.

After her experiences, Mrs Watson worked as a volunteer at Darlington Association on Disability (Dad) to ensure that other deaf students were well-supported in further education.  Lauren Robinson, chief executive of Dad, said: “Rosie worked for Dad as an information worker and also gave many hours of time volunteering, supporting disabled children on the Dash play scheme and piloting a national scheme to inspect nursing and residential homes with the Care Quality Commission.


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