Brave young Derry man takes on Errigal for charity

A young Derry man who suffers from a debilitating inflammatory bowel disease is climbing Mount Errigal to raise money to help find a cure for the condition.

Benjamin Burroughs (pictured) was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease last year after he was hospitalised weighing just six and half stone.

The 23 year-old had been ill for around five years and was in constant pain and chronically tired.

After being admitted to Altnagelvin Hospital he had to be tube fed and a portion of his bowel was removed.

Benjamin was then put on strong steroids to control the condition, which many doctors believe is an auto immune disease.

However, when Benjamin and his mother Jacqueline began researching the condition they found there was strong evidence to suggest it was caused by a bacteria found in cows’ milk.

“Professor Joh Hermon-Taylor from King’s College London has been working on this for 30 years and he believes that Crohn’s could be caused by a type of bacteria called Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP),” Jacqueline told the Derry News.

“He has developed a vaccine against MAP which is sitting in a freezer right now ready to go but they need £420,000 to carry out human trials.

“It’s an awful shame it’s just sitting there when so many people are so sick.

“Even the Health Minister Jeremy Hunt has agreed it’s a possibility that MAP causes Crohn’s.”

Tests on Benjamin’s bowel tissue confirmed he has MAP and the Magee student is now helping to raise funds to fund the vaccine research by climbing Mount Errigal.

“I’ve put on three stone now and I’m doing a lot better but it could come back at any time,” Benjamin said.

“I’ve set a target of £500 and want to raise as much money as I can to help.”

If you would like to donate to Benjamin’s cause log on to https://www.justgiving.com/user/51854718