TICK Prevention Week (April 7 to 13) is using the harrowing example of Tilly Upton to illustrate the devastating effects a tick bite can have.

The 27-year-old, from Dorset, has spent five years confined to her bed or a wheelchair after being bitten between the toes by the blood-sucking tick, Ixodes ricinus.

Plagued by flu-like symptoms, and then frightening seizures, she had no idea that her weakened state was because of the bite, or the fact that she had contracted Lyme disease.

As the disease progressed, she became too weak and unco-ordinated to walk and too ill to continue at university studying for a BA in English literature.

She has been in bed and wheelchair-bound since.

Lyme disease is caused by a complex bacteria called Borrelia, and is one of a number of infections carried by ticks in the UK.

It is estimated that 2000 people contract Lyme disease annually and the incidence is increasing year-by-year.

There are no vaccines available to prevent infection, so tick awareness is the only defence.

Endorsed by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, the campaign week is held in the early spring when the weather gets warmer, people spend more time outdoors, and the ticks become more active.

Simple precautions against tick bites and knowing how to correctly remove ticks can prevent a life-time of ill health and physical pain.

New chief for rural property body
THE board of the Scottish Rural Property and Business Association has elected Luke Borwick to become the association's chairman.

Borwick will take over from Keith Arbuthnott following the association's annual meeting on May 14.