Tremors and muscle rigidity which can make it difficult for people to walk, talk and swallow are some of the main symptoms affecting people with Parkinson’s disease.

The disease can be hugely debilitating, but because sufferers look healthy on the outside they say people are often unsure how to treat them.

The condition is caused by a lack of a chemical in the brain called dopamine. Without dopamine people find their movements become slower, they can lose co-ordination and muscles can also become stiff.

Everyday activities such as fastening buttons or getting up from a chair can become extremely difficult and painful and some sufferers find their posture becomes stooped and their face becomes stiff, making expressions more difficult.

Maggie Holland, aged 67, from Nailsea, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease 10 years ago, but she had been suffering from the symptoms for five years.

She said: “I was diagnosed in 2004. I had already given up my job because I knew something was wrong, I just didn’t know what it was.

“I felt very weak and I kept tripping up and having falls. You can’t be diagnosed until you’ve lost 80 per cent of dopamine, so they are trying to find a way to recognise it earlier. It affects everything – how I walk, my eyes, my speech, swallowing, my bowels and bladder. I’m affected on my right side mainly, it was like I’d had a stroke.

“Because it affects you inside, people look at me and say I look fine and when I first went into hospital some nurses just didn’t seem to understand there was anything wrong because I looked well. There’s not enough awareness.”

After Maggie’s diagnosis she joined the North West Somerset Branch of Parkinson’s UK and has been speaking at schools, businesses and community groups to raise awareness of the condition,

The group provides support and information to people with Parkinson’s and their carers and also raises funds for research, social activities and to pay for their new specialist Parkinson’s nurse.

There is currently no cure for the condition, but it can be treated with medication and surgery to reduce the symptoms.

To mark the end of Parkinson’s Awareness Week, the branch is holding a fundraising coffee morning at Yatton Methodist Church on Saturday from 10am-1pm.

The North West Somerset Branch meets on the second Saturday of each month at St Francis Church Hall, off Ash Hayes Road, in Nailsea from 10.30am-12.15pm. To find out more call Jill on 01275 855524.