A WITNEY man who has diabetes and lost both his mum and sister to the condition is urging people to take part in NHS research.

Nigel Hawkins knows first hand how devastating type 2 diabetes can be when his mum Ivy Hawkins died in February 1998, aged 68, from complications relating to the condition.

Fifteen years later his younger half-sister Marion Searley died from not taking her diabetes medication at just 62.

The 56-year-old was also diagnosed with the condition in July 2001 after a family holiday with his wife Linda and their two children.

He said: “It was quite a shock really because even though I have a family history of diabetes, you always think ‘it’s not going to happen to me, I’m made of stronger stuff’, but that’s not the case.

“My mother became diabetic during childbirth when she was about 19 or 20 and in those days it was quite hard to work out what brought this condition on.

“She died because of diabetic complications. Both of her feet were gangrenous, and she was going to have them amputated, but the night before her operation she passed away.

“My sister had a history of mental health issues and we believe that’s why she was self-withdrawing the tablets she had to take for her diabetes.”

Mr Hawkins’ half-brother, Malcolm Searley, 61, and older half-sister, Sally Stratford, 68, also have the condition.

Type 2 diabetes is a lifelong condition where the body does not respond to insulin, a hormone which regulates blood sugar levels.

In April 2016, Mr Hawkins retired from his health and safety advisor job of 20 years at the Home Retail Group and is now working part time as a team leader for the Co-Operative Food Centrum Square store in Carterton.

He added: “When I was admitted to hospital via the A &E route I was told I was diabetic and the consultant said I now had 10 years wiped off my life expectancy.

“It scared the living daylights out of me.

“After being diagnosed I reviewed what I was doing earlier: going for McDonald’s for lunch, and sometimes on the way home from work if I was caught in traffic and eating meals late at night when I got in.

“This lifestyle wasn’t helping the diabetes.”

Mr Hawkins decided to donate blood samples as part of a Oxford University study last year to help further researchers’ understanding of the condition.

The Oxford Biobank study aims to gain a better understanding of how lifestyle contributes to some people developing the conditions, to then help researchers learn how to prevent it.

The study is recruiting participants until September 2018 and residents with the condition in the county are asked to participate.

Mr Hawkins is part of the Patient Research Ambassador Initiative (PRAI), where members of the public promote NHS research for example via events and health awareness days.