IT is thought to affect nearly a quarter of a million Britons - but its causes are still not fully understood and medical opinions on how to treat it are divided. This week is ME Awareness Week. LUCY STEPHENS finds out more.

CHERYLL Neyt studies at college, like many other teenagers.

But unlike most others, she has to get around on a motorised scooter or wheelchair when she leaves the house, and is in bed early every night to get her ten hours of sleep.

That is because Cheryll, from Fulford, in York, has been suffering from ME (myalgic encephalomy-elitis) since she was 12.

"It's painful," says Cheryll, 19. "You get muscle aches and headaches. Not only that, I missed out with my friends."

This week, Action For ME has published research which reveals 55,000 "hidden" ME sufferers are so affected by their condition they are either bed or housebound.

The survey, part of the organisation's More Than You Know campaign, was released alongside research which showed a third of Britons had never heard of the illness, and only five per cent of those questioned were aware of how many people were affected.

One of the best known local sufferers was Carli Barry who committed suicide on her 27th birthday in 2001 after years battling ME and depression.

ME is also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. It affects many parts of the body and the most common symptoms are severe fatigue or exhaustion, problems with memory and concentration, and muscle pain.

But support is out there, says Jenny Gilmore, chair of the York And District ME Support Group.

She said: "The support group supports other local people through a newsletter which comes out three times a year. We have a friendship network which links isolated people together across the eastern side of North Yorkshire. It enables people to link together who are isolated."

Ways of managing the condition include "pacing" - a way of controlling how much activity is done in a day. Some sufferers also find it helpful to change their diet, as many have Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

York-based homeopath Drinna Ferrer says complementary therapy and homeopathy can offer much help to people with ME.

"Homoeopaths look at the mental, emotional and physical state of the person," she said.

"They are also interested in how the disease came about in the first place.

"So, they look at the family medical history, your lifestyle, your work and environment and take a personal history."

For details about the support group, phone 01904 655911, log on to www.yorkmesupport.org.uk, or email inquiries@yorkmesupport.org.uk.

o MARY MORROD, from Heworth, York, was diagnosed with ME 11 years ago - but started to suffer with the illness several years before that.

The 56-year-old remembers being so tired she would have to go to bed as soon as her children left for school.

"I was sleeping most of the day away," she says.

"It's terrible because people think you're lazy because you don't have any energy."

After Mary was diagnosed, she was referred to an ME course which she said really helped.

"I'm better than I was," she said. "You have to let it take its own pace. It's no good you fighting against it."

And support from other sufferers also helps.

"I used to go to the ME Support Group. It's very good. That's the first thing you want to do - you want to find other people like yourself."