Kent vet Sarah Bignell disabled by tick bite disease

A former vet has been forced to give up work and now has to use a wheelchair after being diagnosed with Lyme disease, a rare condition passed on by bites from infected ticks.

Sarah Bignell, 37, from Ashford in Kent, initially thought the severe pain she suffered in her hands might have been caused by repetitive strain injury but it spread rapidly.

Ms Bignell believes she was infected when she was bitten by a tick in Scotland.

Sandra Pearson, from the charity Lyme Disease Action, said there needed to be a much greater recognition of the complexities of the disease.