LORRAINE Murray went from competing in Olympic-distance triathlons to spending 18 months in bed after she contracted Lyme disease from a tick bite while out walking her dog in August 2014. The former British Army physical fitness instructor, from Montrose, fell ill almost immediately.

Mrs Murray, from Montrose, said: “I remember the date clearly as at the time I became ill I was away celebrating my 10th year wedding anniversary with my husband, I spent four days in a hotel room bed unable to move. A few days beforehand, I had a little black thing at the top of my leg but I hadn’t realised it was a tick."

At first, her GP diagnosed flu. However, the symptoms kept returning.

She said: "Every month I developed this same flu like feeling and then other symptoms started creeping in also between these bouts like ear and eye sensitivities, chills, fever, sweating, and I suddenly started having difficulty walking. That’s when I knew something was very wrong."

After nine months she was forced to give up work due to exhaustion and the onset of alarming new problems.

"Around the 9 month mark I had severe heart symptoms - my heart would just speed up with no warning. This lasted a few weeks and was again misdiagnosed as a panic attack.

The symptoms just kept increasing. I had a stiff neck, tingling legs, buzzing sensations (felt like an army of ants were running up and down inside my legs."

After being misdiagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, Mrs Murray was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease after undergoing private tests and has paid for treatment privately.

Ms Murray has now founded the Tick-Borne Illness Campaign Scotland, which is petitioning the Scottish Parliament for better treatment for Lyme disease and related infections.