DISABLED mum Janet Horton has picked up a degree, despite going through agonising pain as she studied.

Janet, 49, has fibro myalgia, a rare condition of the tissue which leaves her in constant pain.

Despite the illness, mum-of-three Janet, of Fellstone Vale, Withnell, studied for an Open University degree and recently collected a BSc Honours in Social Sciences.

A volunteer for the Chorley Citizens Advice Bureau and a lay preacher, Janet said: "I virtually live on pain killers so studying for the degree actually helped take my mind off things.

"It was hard work but worth it. I studied when my husband and children were out of the house."

Janet's condition means she is sometimes forced to use a wheelchair. She has recently been made a trustee of a national group set up to help sufferers.

She hopes to put her degree to good use and is about to start a course to become a counsellor with the bereavement group Cruise.

She added: "Little is known about fibro myalgia. You wouldn't believe there was anything wrong just by looking at a victim.

"But a national helpline has received 6,000 inquiries in the last four years so there are a lot of sufferers out there."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.