HIGH-flying executive Gary Martin dismissed the slight shake in his hand as a trapped nerve.

But when he went to his doctor he discovered that it was the early onset of Parkinson’s disease.

He was just 39 years old and said the news felt like a ‘slap in the face’.

Now five years on Gary has told of his battle with the condition and how he rebuilt his life ahead of Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Week which begins on Monday.

Gary, of West View, Oswaldtwistle, said: “The best way I can describe it is like having a limb that you can feel and know is there, but it’s not your own and you can’t control it.

“I know what my signature should look like, but I can’t get my hand to do that any more.

“Eventually, unless a cure is found, I’ll be in a wheelchair and need constant care.”

The former pupil of Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School spent 16 years as creative director of exclusive London tailors Harvie and Hudson, catering for the Royal family as well as veteran actor Peter Ustinov, and travelling the world to find the finest fabrics.

But his action-packed life came to an abrupt halt in his mid-30s, when severe depression struck and took him first to live for two years in Glasgow, then return to Oswaldtwistle to be near his family.

It was at the same time that he first noticed a slight shake in his hand.

His GP recognised the signs, and Gary was diagnosed just after returning to East Lancashire.

Gary said: “It was like a slap in the face, but now I knew what was wrong.

"My neurologist tells me the depression is a common early symptom, so it was a relief to know that in a way, because I hadn’t been able to understand it. I’d been so happy with my life.”

Gary said there had been signs in his early 20s which he had not recognised.

He said: “There were a couple of times where I remember rushing through London and suddenly finding my legs had locked and I couldn’t move, but I was all right again straight away so I didn’t think much of it.”

Now Gary has come to terms with his new life and his battle with the condition. He is too ill work and survives on benefits.

He said: “I never imagined myself coming back to East Lancashire.

“I thought I would stay in London and maybe retire to France and spend my days painting.

“There’s no chance of that now, but instead I’m involved in the local website and in local politics and I spend my time doing that. It’s a completely different life.

“It was hard coming to terms with never doing regular work again, but when you’re like that it’s out of the question.

“I remember my grandmother having Parkinson’s but she was in her 60s.

“I didn’t know people as young as me could get it, or that it was degenerative and that there wasn’t any cure.

"I read every book I could get my hands on, including Michael J Fox’s autobiography.

"I needed to know what I was dealing with.

“There are drugs to control the tremors, but they only work for so long, and an early onset like mine means you have to live with it even longer.

“On a good day I’m OK, and the shaking’s not too bad, but on a bad day there’s stiffness, pain, and it’s a huge struggle to get out of bed.”

Gary has taken part in setting up the new Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Parkinson’s Society, which will hold its next meeting on Saturday May 2 at 11.30am at Hyndburn Town Hall.

The group meets on the second Saturday of every month for a Jacob’s join lunch and guest speaker on subjects related to Parkinson’s.