dementia sufferers could be prescribed previously denied drugs after a U-turn by health watchdog Nice.

The change of heart comes four years after The Northern Echo launched its Don’t Stop Dementia Drugs Campaign.

The 2006 campaign helped rally support for protest marches in Newcastle, Northallerton and York and led to 3,000 letters of protest from Northern Echo readers being delivered to the Department of Health.

Readers were outraged at a ruling by Nice (the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) in 2006 that key medicines would only be available to people in moderate stages of the disease.

Campaigners argued it was cruel and unethical to force patients with early stage Alzheimer’s to wait until they became worse before they could get the drugs.

But today, Nice has published new draft guidance saying the medicines should be made available to people with mild disease – potentially benefiting thousands of sufferers.

Ken Clasper, 63, a dementia sufferer from Chester-le- Street, whose case helped spark the Echo campaign, described the U-turn as wonderful news last night.

And his wife, Janice, 61, said: “The Echo’s campaign made such a big difference. It raised awareness and brought the issue of dementia drugs to people’s attention.

“Many of the people who wrote to the Department of Health had no connection with dementia.”

Mr Clasper became a campaigner for patient rights after benefiting from a drug that was later restricted.

Mrs Clasper said that if her husband had not been put on one of the drugs, Exelon, five years ago, he would now probably not have been able to recognise his three grandchildren.

“Ken never expected to know the first one, let alone the third,” she said.

Last night, a spokeswoman for the Alzheimer’s Society praised The Northern Echo’s involvement in the campaign.

Today’s guidance, which is subject to appeal, says Aricept, Reminyl and Exelon will be made available to people with mild conditions.

It also recommends the use of Ebixa for severe disease and for some patients with moderate disease. Previously, it was only offered to patients as part of a clinical trial.

The drugs, which cost £2.80 a day, have been shown to improve everyday functioning, including improving the ability to pay attention, increasing alertness, improving mood and restoring confidence.

Nice chief executive Sir Andrew Dillon said evidence collected in the past three years allowed them to make a positive recommendation for use on the NHS.

Ruth Sutherland, interim chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “This decision stands to benefit hundreds of thousands of people. The drugs are not a miracle cure, but they can make important differences to people’s lives.”

There are 465,000 people with Alzheimer’s in the UK and 62,000 people develop the disease every year.