Brave widow Jo Pollard, whose husband Michael was killed during an aid mission to eastern Europe, has spoken of her battle against Alzheimer's disease.

Mrs Pollard's husband Michael, 62, died in 1997 after the couple were attacked by robbers in Hungary while en route to Romania with a van load of aid.

Despite losing her husband and being badly injured herself in the attack, Mrs Pollard, 60, forgave her three attackers and has even visited the men in prison.

Two years ago she started suffering short term memory loss. Her doctor thought the problem might be linked to the attack and carried out a series of tests. She was finally diagnosed as suffering from Alzheimer's.

"When the doctor told me that I had Alzheimer's I said, 'At least I have a name for it'," she said.

"People kept saying it was because I was beaten up and it takes so long for a head injury to repair. The good thing is that I can go to that young man who attacked me and tell him that what he did to me hasn't caused it."

Mrs Pollard, who lives in Baildon, says she is keen to tell her story so that other people can benefit from her experience.

"I woke up one morning and couldn't remember how to get dressed. I once went into a shop and asked them for something and then asked them the same thing again. I knew that my brain was running out a bit," she said.

Now with the help of a newly-launched project, Mrs Pollard is learning how to live with the disease.

The Time To Listen project has been set up to offer companionship to Bradford people suffering from dementia. The scheme trains volunteers to act as friends to sufferers, giving them practical help and offering support in difficult times.

Sue Smit, project leader, said: "There is still a stigma attached to the disease.

"Part of our job is to help with that. I think it's to do with a lack of understanding. Jo is on my advisory group for the project. It shows that this disease doesn't have to stop your life."

Mrs Pollard certainly subscribes to this theory, and will shortly be jetting off to her native New Zealand for a six-week holiday to visit family and friends.

She said her religious faith had helped her to cope both with her husband's death and also with the Alzheimer's.

People suffering from Alzheimer's, or anyone who would like to volunteer to help, can contact the Time to Listen project on (01274) 733880.