PARTY-GOERS got out balloons and dined on birthday cake to celebrate the first anniversary of Chippenham Leg Club.

The club, which meets weekly at Chippenham Sports Club on Bristol Road, provides community-based treatment, health promotion, education and ongoing care for people of all ages who are experiencing leg-related problems such as swollen legs and ulcers.

But the club is much more than a medical resource - it offers people who might otherwise feel isolated and socially excluded by their condition a chance to meet others in a similar situation, to enjoy a cup of tea and socialise. Set up by Hathaway and Rowden surgeries, the club regularly attracts 30 to 40 people, between 9am and 1pm on Thursday.

Pip Nightingale is the clinical lead, while Amanda Houston is non -clinical lead. She said:

"The club was set up for us to work together with people with socially isolating wounds. Within six weeks, people were making friends and integrating.

"People can be quite embarrassed about leg ulcers, but coming here they realise lots of people have them, and they are not on their own. A lot of people don't get out much and the condition can be very, very painful."

Myrtle and Bill Harris have been members of the club since its beginning, as Bill, 88, has a leg problem.

"There's a great atmosphere, and we've met new people," Myrtle said.

Myra Sharp, 74, attended with her daughter Karen Swallow, and both agreed the club was a great resource.

Karen said they were shocked when her mother got an ulcer, as it was something she knew little about.

"Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined how much it would impact on someone's life," she said.

For more information, email chippenhamlegclub@nhs.net or ask at the surgery.