FUNDRAISERS have helped an extraordinary medical worker realise her dream of setting up a clinic for Indian women stigmatised by leprosy.

Thousands of miles away from her family's home in Frosterley, Weardale, fine arts graduate Leah Pattison brings hope and dignity to desperate sufferers.

She lives among them in some of the world's poorest slums, fighting prejudice and ignorance in a claustrophobic, filthy environment of harassment and despair.

Her work in the central Indian city of Nagpur has been supported by schools, community groups and other organisations in the UK since she sold off her possessions to launch her own charity, called Start.

Now Crook Rotary Club has provided matched funding so that Leah, 30, and her colleague Usha Patel can not only build the clinic but also buy an ambulance to transport patients and equipment.

The pair were presented with a £7,083 cheque to bring the Rotary movement's contribution up to £9,000.

Clubs all over the North-East have supported the appeal.

In India, Leah is known as the Angel of Nagpur, but her approach to her work is very down-to-earth.

She contracted leprosy herself during her early days in India and knows how easily it can be treated if it is caught in time.

Unfortunately, the disease means disgrace for non-Western victims and many of Leah's patients hide their symptoms until they develop terrible deformities.

Many women are trapped in arranged, loveless marriages and are cut off from their children.

Leah and Usha witness unimaginable suffering every day as they seek out patients among the sprawling, fetid and often dangerous slums where they live and work.

They carry our basic tasks such as dressing wounds which are often ulcerated or infested with maggots. They teach simple hygiene and arrange other medical treatment, including sight restoring eye operations at a local hospital.

And they have helped many of their patients set up small businesses, including tea stalls and shops.

This support restores the independence and self-respect for the often elderly women who have been cast out by their families because of the disgrace that leprosy brings.

The new clinic will be a huge breakthrough for Leah and Usha's project. Her architect father Derek designed the building and helped set up the charity, with her mother Sandee.

Leah said: "This is something we have worked for. We have had fantastic support from people at home.

"We have been using a scooter to transport medical equipment into the patients' homes and there are 406 slums in Nagpur. It is horrendous travelling in that way.

"The ambulance means that we will be able to transport any of our patients for emergency treatment or specialist consultations without using public transport."

Leah and Usha returned to India this week to continue their mission.

To help their work contact Start on (01388) 528497.