BOXER Darren Smith encountered some strange looks when he made his way to the ring for his latest fight.

But that was exactly what the semi-pro wanted, as he looked to raise awareness of a rare disorder that nearly took his friend's life.

The fighter's unusual ring attire was a t-shirt bearing the message 'Do You Know Guillain-Barré?'

Darren's friend Shaun Hoyle, 42, from The Crescent, Feniscowles, was a fit and healthy man until he was struck down by Guillain-Barré Syndrome.

Named after the French physicians Guillain, Barré and Strohl, who were the first to describe it in 1916, it is a condition in which the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system.

Shaun, a builder and joiner, was working on a friend's house over Easter when he started getting 'tingly fingers'.

He said: “I just got pins and needles in my fingers and toes. I went home and all my coordination went in my arms and legs.

“For three or four days they were doing tests on me to find out what it was and then I was in intensive care for two weeks.”

The dad-of-two went into rehabilitation at Royal Blackburn Hospital and Burnley General Hospital, learning how to walk again and how to use his arms.

He had to quit his H & M Building and Joinery business and lost nearly three stone in weight – a painful sight for daughters Tayla, 12, Rhaya, three, and wife Donna.

He said: “I didn't want them seeing me for weeks and weeks. My lungs collapsed twice, I got pneumonia and a bad chest infection. I was worried I was going to die.

“It was horrible. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.”

Shaun is now attending physiotherapy twice a week and slowly recovering.

And he managed to watch at ringside as Darren and his corner men wore their t-shirts during a winning bout in Bolton on June 6.

Darren, 36, from Blackburn said: “I'm going to wear it to all the fights now to raise awareness.

“People came up to us to ask the question, which is exactly what we wanted.”

>>GUILLAIN-BARRÉ SYNDROME
The syndrome is a rare disorder in which the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system.

The first symptoms of this disorder include varying degrees of weakness or tingling sensations in the legs.

In many instances the weakness and abnormal sensations spread to the arms and upper body.

These symptoms can increase in intensity until certain muscles cannot be used at all and, when severe, the patient is almost totally paralysed.

Former Blackburn Rovers and Liverpool defender Markus Babbel famously suffered from the syndrome.