A support group, which says it is the first of its kind in the UK, is being launched in Maidstone to help people suffering with gluten intolerance.

It will hold sessions offering tips, recipes and advice for those struggling to adjust to a wheat and grain free diet and lifestyle, as well as providing a forum for people to share their experiences of what can be a difficult condition to live with.

It is being set up by nutrition and life coach, Yasmina Beckett Cole, who trained as a certified gluten practitioner after developing the intolerance six years ago.

She said: “I want to help other people the best I can, having gone through an isolating and confusing experience of living with it myself.

“Following a very difficult time in my life I started to have symptoms like severe abdominal pain and I became aware I had become gluten intolerant and had to change my diet and lifestyle.

"For me, it was brought on by stress and now it will be with me for life.

"I want to help other people, having gone through an isolating and confusing experience of living with it myself" - Yasmina Beckett Cole

“One of the problems is you walk into a supermarket and there’s nothing to buy or you go to a restaurant or dinner party and there’s nothing you can eat.

"A lot of people will continue to eat gluten products even though it makes them ill because they don’t know what else to do.

“The support group will give those people a voice.”

Miss Beckett Cole, who works at Paydens Natural Health Centre in Bearsted, is also hoping to launch gluten free awareness training and certification for restaurants and cafes.

The monthly support sessions will run from 8pm to 10.30pm at the Heart of Flavour Cafe in King Street, starting on Tuesday, January 19.

The launch will coincide with a new gluten free additions to the menu there.

Entry costs £8. For more visit www.gfasupport.com or call 01622 662192.