Massive stroke that left Sue paralysed

The case of Sue Haskins was one of the first to raise concerns about the third generation Pill - and set in train the long fight to bring the issue to court.

Less than a year after starting to take the Pill, Femodene, she suffered a stroke which left her so paralysed she can only communicate by blinking.

Mrs Haskins was among the original group of women to bring the action, although for legal reasons her case is not part of the High Court action beginning today.

In May 1990, as a 26-year-old, Mrs Haskins decided to switch from her regular birth control Pill to the more modern, third generation Femodene. She began suffering from blurred sight, vomiting and dizziness the following February. In March 1991 she collapsed and was taken to hospital.

The following day a blood clot which had developed in her leg reached her brain and caused the stroke. Doctors, thinking her brain dead, considered turning off her life support machine. However they realised she was perfectly alert, trapped inside her motionless body. She remained in hospital for eight months and after a seven-year stay in a nursing home, moved to her own flat in Bristol where she needs round-the-clock care.

Her solicitor, Frances Wright, said: "She has very little controlled movement. She can move one thumb and her eyes. The tragic thing is that her brain and her higher functions are perfectly intact. She can see, hear and her memory is fine. It's known as 'locked-in syndrome'."

Mrs Haskins's life lies in ruins. Her husband, Andrew, whom she met when she was 12, left her, although regularly visits. Mr Haskins, 37, said: "Every time I see her she amaze me. But I have to get on with my life and she understands that. What happened to her has ruined my life as well."