Sutton mayor Arthur Hookway is campaigning on an issue close to his heart, as he gets behind the fight to fund a potential cure for Crohn’s disease.

Councillor Hookway, whose daughter had Crohn’s diagnosed 14 years ago, is raising awareness of a potential vaccine, which needs millions of pounds in investment to be produced and trialled.

He said: “When we received the devastating news my wife and I were deeply shocked. We had heard of this illness before but knew very little about it.

“Our daughter has been on different drugs to control and suppress her condition all of her adult life.”

After reading an article in our sister paper the Wimbledon Guardian in November last year, Coun Hookway learned about Professor John Hermon-Taylor, who has spent 17 years developing a vaccine for Crohn’s.

The condition causes inflammation in the lining of the digestive system, resulting in fatigue, abdominal pain, and unintended weight loss.

Prof Hermon-Taylor’s treatment seeks to reverse the irregularity in the immune system, meaning the patient’s own white blood cells will be able to seek out the condition and destroy it.

It has proven successful in mice and cattle, offering hope to sufferers and their loved- ones that they are on the cusp of finding a cure.

Coun Hookway is reaching out to other mayor’s across London to raise the vaccine’s profile so that Professor Hermon-Taylor’s work can be completed.

He said: “To those who say – ‘But it is not proven’, I say ‘Then it is imperative that we find out either way’.

“We cannot wait any longer. We cannot stand by and let a potential cure for our loved ones fall by the wayside untested.”

Crohn’s MAP Vaccine is a group committed to raising the £2.65m needed to manufacture and trial the drug, and it also raises awareness of the treatment and its potential.

Visit crohnsmapvaccine.com.