Kerry Katona formally of Atomic Kitten hit the news again recently when the Sun newspaper reported that her Mum Susan could not be sentenced for benefit fraud after missing her scheduled court appearance because of her agoraphobia.

JPs in Cheshire adjourned the case when Susan’s lawyer produced a letter from her doctor stating that agoraphobia has left her unable to leave home. Health professional Lloyd Watkins of Beonform told us “agoraphobia is a horrible condition, which imprisons thousands of people and leaves a lot more only able to venture a few 100 yards from their home.”

Agoraphobia is the progression of panic disorder and leaves its sufferers helpless. Lloyd explained “perhaps the biggest single difficulty any agoraphobic experiences is the lack of available help at their home and whilst I travel the country helping agoraphobics at their homes, there are very few other health professionals that do.”