Beth Dobbin: 350 athletes urge PM to fund ME research

The former sprinter spends most of the day in bed

The 32-year-old former sprinter now spends more than 22 hours of most days in bed, living with what she calls "life-decimating" ME.

More than 350 sportspeople have signed a letter asking Burnham to meet her and fund ME research.

Dobbin received no reply when she first wrote to Downing Street on 21 October.

Since she wrote to the government, Dina Asher-Smith and Tom Daley are among the athletes to have added their names.

Other names include Everton manager David Moyes, United States women's manager Emma Hayes and former England defender Millie Bright.

Beth Dobbin's letter to the prime minister

The support left her "taken aback and extremely touched", Dobbin said.

Old team-mates and people across the wider sporting world had come forward to help, she said.

In the letter, PM Burnham is urged to "level the playing field" for ME research funding against other illnesses.

The aim, it says, is "to give hope to the many affected that something is being done about this life-destroying, much-ignored illness and its spiralling impact."

ME's reach across the UK

Myalgic encephalomyelitis, or ME, is a chronic illness with no cure and no specific treatment.

It is also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, according to the NHS.

It is a long-term condition that can affect different parts of the body, and the most common symptom is extreme tiredness. The cause of ME/CFS is unknown.

According to estimates of campaigners, at least 400,000 people in the UK live with ME.

However, they believe the real total may run well past one million.

Some are so severely affected they need constant nursing care and tube feeding.

What is ME?

ME is a long-term illness.

It causes extreme fatigue, pain and problems with memory and sleep that does not improve with rest, and it currently has no cure.

Symptoms of ME/CFS

According to the NHS, the 4 main symptoms of ME/CFS are:

• feeling extremely tired all the time (fatigue), which can make daily activities like taking a shower, or going to work or school, difficult
• sleep problems, including insomnia, sleeping too much, feeling like you have not slept properly and feeling exhausted or stiff when you wake up
• problems with thinking, concentration and memory (brain fog)
• symptoms getting worse after physical or mental activity, and possibly taking weeks to get better (also called post-exertional malaise, or PEM)

Who has signed Beth Dobbin's letter?

• More than 350 sportspeople, including 114 Olympians and Paralympians
• Dina Asher-Smith, Tom Daley, David Moyes, Emma Hayes and Millie Bright among the named signatories