I AM writing to thank Julian Lewis MP for publicly supporting our 4 Ts campaign, which aims to highlight the main signs and symptoms of Type 1 diabetes: toilet, thirsty, tired and thinner.

The reason we are campaigning on this is that nine out of ten parents are unable to correctly identify frequent urinating, excessive thirst, extreme tiredness, and unexplained weight loss as the main symptoms of Type 1 diabetes.

This is one of the reasons why a quarter of children with Type 1 diabetes are only diagnosed once they are already seriously ill with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a life-threatening condition that needs immediate treatment in hospital.

It is only by raising awareness of the symptoms that we can bring this situation to an end, and this is why I am delighted Julian Lewis has added his voice to the campaign by signing an Early Day Motion on this subject.

I look forward to working closely with him to ensure children with diabetes in New Forest East and across the country get the care and support they need.

Readers can find out more information about the 4 Ts campaign at our website: diabetes.org.uk/ The4Ts.

JILL STEATON, South East Regional Manager, Diabetes UK.