IT'S a tale that would make any mum proud -- a son who overcomes a severe speech impediment to become a university lecturer and nurse.

Just like his mum Mary, 45-year-old Bispham man Eric Norbury, above, always wanted to be a nurse, but one thing stood in his way -- a stammer so severe he could hardly get a word out.

"The kids gave me such earache at school I couldn't stand it, so I left and joined my father as a painter and decorator," he said.

But he never gave up his dream and after leaving decorating in his late teens he took a job as a porter at the old St Anne's Hospital.

He also sought help from speech and language therapists, including Linda House of Blackpool Community Health Trust, who helped him for several years.

Eric said: "I owe so much to Linda. She's been there for me at each new hurdle. People with a speech impediment can feel a social outcast and lose confidence in themselves.

Now a staff nurse at Blackpool Victoria Hospital, Eric sometimes bumps into his mum who still works as an auxiliary nurse there. "She is proud of me because of how things have gone and how I am a staff nurse and an associate lecturer," he said.

Busy Eric, who is studying for a BSc (Hons) Health Studies through the University of Central Lancashire, also lectures all over the country on supporting bereaved families immediately after a sudden death.

He admits it is still not easy to stand up and give a public lecture.

"At first I have to concentrate on my breathing, but then once I get going and I see the interest in people's faces something takes over."

The causes of stammering are unknown, but Linda said a lot more people are now seeking help.

"Many people successfully hide a speech impediment for years by avoiding the words that cause them problems, but a new situation, a new job, may put them on the spot and mean they decide to do something about it," she said.

But figures like Pop Idol Gareth Gates and the writer John Bayley, portrayed in the film "Iris", have helped lessen the stigma of speech impediments, she said.

And Linda is offering two afternoon sessions when anyone can drop in and speak to her in confidence about therapy for stammering. She will be in her office behind the Women's Unit at Blackpool Victoria Hospital from 2-5pm on March 25 and 26, or she can be contacted on 303871.