Glastonbury 2023: Mum of Tourette's sufferer praises Lewis Capaldi

Lewis Capaldi struggled to complete his set on the Pyramid Stage

Lewis Capaldi's Glastonbury performance will have a powerful impact on awareness of Tourette's, the mother of a teenager with the condition has said.

Capaldi, who himself has Tourette's, stopped singing due to losing his voice earlier in his set and repeated tics on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday.

The crowd responded by singing the lyrics to show their support.

Laura Hummersone, from Farnborough, said it was an emotional watch as her son Harry, 19, has similar tics.

Capaldi, who announced in 2022 he had been diagnosed with the neurological condition, sang ballads including Someone You Loved to festival-goers.

He struggled to complete the set with vocal problems leaving him almost unable to sing his final songs.

Laura Hummersone and her son Harry watched Lewis Capaldi's Glastonbury performance

Ms Hummersone watched his performance TV with her son, who she said gradually started smiling from seeking solace in the fact that he and Capaldi both had similar tics.

"In that moment, I think he did more for Tourette's than any charity or education on the topic in all the times I've known about Tourette's - I was in tears," she said.

"[Capaldi] was openly ticing and my son tries to suppress his most of the time when he's out, which means that when he comes home, he has these huge tic attacks where he can barely do anything.

"Some of the tics that Lewis was doing were tics that my son does on a regular daily basis, jerking the head."

Harry was diagnosed with Tourette's when he was five year old, with Ms Hummersone at one point having to give up her job to look after him.

"I think the condition is still so misunderstood and people think you only tic when stressed," she said.

The star said he would take an extended break after his performance

"With Lewis, he was ticing doing something he loved - sometimes it distracts you from what you're doing, other times it doesn't.

"So his performance was amazingly powerful."

Ms Hummersone said she was particularly struck by how much the crowd supported Capaldi.

"The acceptance, tolerance, understanding, empathy and compassion which the crowd showed yesterday was phenomenal", she said.

The singer has previously openly discussed his struggles with anxiety and the pressures of fame, and he recently appeared in a candid Netflix film documenting his mental health issues.

You can find information and support for issues raised in this story at BBC Action Line.