A Minster father-of-three has organised a protest to fight for better testing and treatments for Lyme disease.

Richard Senior, of Windmill Rise, was bitten by an infected tick while holidaying in the Scottish highlands in September 2016.

Since then, the 53-year-old’s life has been dominated by the symptoms of Lyme disease and he has spent hundreds of pounds on private diagnosis and treatment.

The illness, spread by tick bites, can usually be treated easily with antibiotics, but if left undiagnosed, can cause serious complications including heart problems, arthritis and meningitis.

Mr Senior said: “My main symptoms are severe back pain, tingling down my spine, numbness, headaches, loss of appetite, I also find it hard to walk any distance some days, and often suffer from memory loss.

“The problem is, there’s a serious lack of awareness,” he added.

“Most GPs are not fully aware of Lyme disease, some have heard of it. Often the wrong treatments and antibiotics are given or the length of time for the doses isn’t enough.”

Mr Senior, deputy manager at the Abbey Physic Community Garden in Faversham, said he had a full dose of antibiotics but it was far too late. He now has chronic Lyme disease.

“I didn’t develop a rash. Instead, I developed flu-like symptoms three days after the bite,” he said.

“I may never get rid of these symptoms completely.”

Mr Senior is now hoping he will be able to raise more awareness of the disease by joining the fight for better testing and treatment.

He organised a protest, with members of the online support group Lyme disease UK, at Westminster earlier this month.

The charity argues despite the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence re-writing guidelines on the condition for doctors, they have not gone far enough.

“We want Lyme disease to be recognised as an illness, we want reliable testing for it, long-term treatment, and for all UK doctors to by fully trained in spotting the signs and dealing with it,” Mr Senior said.