A WEST Ham scarf will adorn the coffin of a Bournemouth man who was one of the few people in the UK to suffer from a rare form of epilepsy.

Football fanatic Lance Tyers, 47, passed away in the Royal Bournemouth Hospital, where he was being treated for acute pancreatitis. A post mortem examination was being carried out to try and establish the cause of his death.

Lance was disabled from progressive myoclonic epilepsy, a genetic condition that causes seizures and muscular jerks. It can start at any time from infancy to adulthood, with patients often becoming unsteady, developing muscle rigidity and losing speech, mobility and mental ability.

Last year, Lance's mother Sylvia appealed through the Daily Echo in a bid to trace others affected by the condition, but no-one came forward.

Her daughter Gail had her first seizure at the age of six and spent years in hospital before her death from pneumonia at the age of 18. By then, Lance - a keen sportsman - was also showing signs of the condition. He had his first seizure at 12.

Mrs Tyers, of Bournemouth, looked after her son at home until three years ago, when he moved into a specialist care centre.

When the family lived in London, she used to take Lance to West Ham matches and among his treasured possessions were birthday cards from former manager Billy Bonds and the team and a picture of him with the FA Cup.

Mrs Tyers said Lance's quality of life had improved recently because of changes to his medication. He recovered much of his speech and was able to accompany his mother to several musical shows.

"Dr Charles Hillyer at Poole Hospital gave him the best year of his life," she said.

She plans to have West Ham's theme tune, I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles, played at the funeral.

First published: May 19