Sutton members of the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association attended a parliament reception last week to raise awareness about the fatal disease.

They were joined by Good Morning Britain presenter, Charlotte Hawkins, whose father died of MND in 2015.

MP for Sutton and Cheam, Paul Scully and MP for Carshalton and Wallington, Tom Brake both lent their support.

Colin De'Ath is a founding member of the MND Association which set up in 1979. He told Sutton Guardian that around 200 people have MND in the borough.

The MND Association is devoted to helping people with the disease along with family members of sufferers.

The parliament event (October 17) was hosted by the MND Association and the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG).

A struggle to access Personal Independence Payment (PIP) was highlighted at the meeting.

PIP is a benefit for people under 65 to help pay for extra costs of living with a disability or health condition.

An investigation by APPG discovered that MND suffers are struggling throughout the PIP process and sometimes have to be "reassessed unnecessarily".

Speaking about the additional strain of her father having MND, Charlotte Hawkins said: "It broke my heart that my dad still wanted to be able to get out and about but we couldn't get access to the right wheelchair for him in time.

"When he began to lose his speech and we looked into what equipment was available to help him we couldn't get it quickly enough.

"MND is tough enough without having to worry about finances and so it's vital that people with MND can access financial support such as PIP."

The progressive disease occurs when the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord which control movement muscles are destroyed.

Speech, swallowing and breathing gradually becomes harder.

MND Association's chief executive, Sally Light, said: "Research shows that people with MND and their families face extra costs of £1,000 a month on average, so people need fast access to benefits such as PIP.

"We will continue to lobby the government to ensure people with MND have better access to the benefits they are entitled to. We fully support the APPG's report recommendations on access to PRP."

MND kills around 30 per cent of people within one year of diagnosis and more than 50 per cent within two years.