Yesterday I attended a meeting in Westminster organised by sufferers of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). Like most people, I had never heard of this condition before. It is an excruciating, debilitating, and chronic condition which causes sufferers to feel extreme pain constantly.

I was horrified by some of the stories I heard yesterday and I welcome the call made by several of my parliamentary colleagues to champion the raising of awareness for sufferers of CRPS. One of the attendees at the meeting was new Benfleet resident Peter Lacey (pictured far left) who rightly points out that not all disabilities are visible. I look forward to working with Peter and other CRPS sufferers to raise awareness.