It is estimated to affect around 200,000 people in England and the late Anita Roddick had it, yet little is known about hepatitis C. CARON KEMP talks to a sufferer from Tottenham ahead of World Hepatitis Awareness Day on Monday.

"I know when I got it. It was September 1, 1974. It was the only time I shared a needle with a stranger. It was at a festival."

John Porter-Weiss, 52, is extremely frank about his condition. As an unhappy teenager he turned to drugs as a form of escapism and soon got addicted. He began regularly injecting barbiturates - drugs that depress the nervous system and produce effects ranging from sedation to euphoria - and he often shared needles.

But a year down the line, realising his life was going downhill, John decided to get clean and turn his life around. He went on to marry and have two children, now aged 24 and 22, and set up home in Tottenham, working in a variety of trades from sculpting to building.

Then, five years ago, a Panorama programme on Hepatitis C triggered John's son into asking his dad to get tested.

John said: "I've never made any bones about it with my sons that many years ago I was involved in hard drugs because I believe you should never hide these things.

"When my son said to get tested it was based on a lot of things. He thought it could explain a lot of symptoms I was experiencing at the time.

"I was feeling ill and didn't know why. In the Eighties I went down with what I thought was the flu but I didn't recover for nine months.

"I had a pain in my right side just under my ribs and couldn't work out what it was. I thought I pulled a muscle but it went on for months.

"I felt weak and lethargic all the time. I was depressed and confused. It was quite worrying."

Like many people, John did not think he could have the virus because he had been clean of drugs for so many years, but went to the doctor to appease his son.

However, hepatitis C can lie dormant for decades before symptoms start to appear and John was found to be a sufferer.

He said: "A lot of people panic when they find out they've got it. It's the sort of thing that happens to other people."

Despite feeling anxious, John set about educating himself and those around him about the illness and even created an awareness badge that was distributed worldwide.

Hepatitis C can seriously damage the liver and affect its ability to function correctly. It is spread via the blood of an infected person, commonly through sharing needles. It can also be contracted through non-sterile tattoo or piercing equipment, pre-1991 blood transfusions (before blood was screened), unprotected sex and sharing razors or toothbrushes with a carrier.

John was comparatively lucky because his condition had not deteriorated into severe liver damage, which can lead to liver cancer or liver failure.

He began his medication 18 months ago after rejecting previous calls to begin treatment because of the side effects.

He said: "It makes you feel like you've got flu but the tablets send you a bit weird. They affected my vision so everything was dim, as if the lights had been turned off. I had really bad confusion and bad panic attacks. In the end, doctors took me off the treatment because they thought I was going to commit suicide. When I got the panic attacks I could've done anything. I also lost all my hair, but it's coming back now."

John is now in remission and said the condition has enabled him to learn about himself and others.

For more information on hepatitis C contact your GP or sexual health clinic, or visit www.hepc.nhs.uk.