PEOPLE suffering from painful bowel problems are having to pay a fortune in prescription charges, it is said.

The Kirklees branch of the National Association for Colitis and Crohn's Disease (NACC) is highlighting what it says is inequality in the prescription system.

People with diabetes and epilepsy are exempt from prescription charges - but people with colitis and Crohn's disease have to pay £6.30 for each item.

Often they are on several drugs at once.

Lilian Coates, chairman of the local NACC, said: "Prescription charges are unfair, not only for people who suffer with inflammatory bowel disease but also others who suffer from a chronic, ongoing, illness.

"This usually means taking prescribed medication for the rest of a person's life."

The NACC is organising a survey of its 30,000 membership to establish the scale of the prescription charge problem.

Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease are life-long potentially life-threatening conditions.

They are sometimes known s inflammatory bowel disease and affect around 150,000 people in the UK.

They cause parts of the small and large intestines to become inflamed, swollen and ulcerated.

The most common symptoms are persistent, non-infectious, painful, bloody diarrhoea.

Ring the NACC on 0845 130 2233 (day) or 0845 130 3344.