A woman has raised more than £150,000 for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) after losing her husband.

Annie Swanston, 63, started raising Crohn’s & Colitis UK after her husband Ian died in 2002 after suffering with Ulcerative Colitis.

Although he died due to a rare blood disorder that he suffered with, the bowel disease was debilitating and so Annie decided to raise awareness for the illness.

She has now raised £163,000 for charity and is a Crohn’s & Colitis UK Community Champion.

Annie put on her first Golf Day in 2003 and raised £14,000, which inspired her to make it an annual occasion.

In 2008 to reach out to other women, Annie put on a charity ball, selling raffle tickets and holding auctions to raise money for the cause.

This is now also an annual occasion, and the ball will be held on Saturday, May 20, the day after Word IBD on Friday, May 19.

She also holds these events as well as Ladies Lunches to combat a subject which people find embarrassing, and to keep Ian’s memory alive.

Crohn’s and Colitis UK is the national charity combating Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, supporting the 300,000 people in the UK suffering forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

A survey of patients revealed that 78 per cent of the general public have a limited awareness of IBD.