A PRESTON pensioner, who suffers from a little known eye disease, has backed a national campaign to raise awareness about the condition.

Ruth Swift, from Goosnargh, is urging people to have regular eye tests after being diagnosed with the rare condition Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) five years ago.

Since then the 80-year-old has lost the sight in her right eye and feared the disease would spread to her remaining eye.

Last week she appeared on BBC breakfast television to raise awareness about the disease for which there is no known cure.

AMD involves abnormal leaky blood vessels inside the eye causing distortion and blurring in the centre of vision. While experts are unsure about the causes of the disease it is believed to stem from a combination of factors such as bright sunlight, diet and smoking. Paul Bishop, an eye specialist at The Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, said: "Many people assume vision loss is a natural part of aging and ignore the early warning signs of AMD. Obvious symptoms are distortion, blurring and straight lines appearing wavy which can be detected by opticians."

Ruth, who has the 'wet' form of AMD -- a less common condition -- found out two years ago that the disease had spread to her left eye.

She attended Royal Liverpool University Hospital where she received treatment. The condition is now stable in her left eye.

Ruth said: "It was devastating I had never heard of AMD before so it was a complete shock. I want to alert people to the importance of having regular eye tests. I'm only thankful that I received treatment in time to save my left eye."

But losing her sight in one eye has caused Ruth great difficulty. "I can't drive anywhere and I have to keep my eyes to the ground on the dodgy pavements," Ruth said.

As a former captain of the Morecambe golf club Ruth still manages to get around. She visited Amsterdam last year with the Samlesbury branch of the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts and is looking forward to visiting Buckingham Palace later this year with the group as part of the Jubilee celebrations.

To find out more about AMD call 0800 328 2849.