A woman's hopes of fighting back against a crippling medical condition have been shattered by a Government decision not to supply a new drug to more patients.

Malcolm and Freda Naylor, of Grange View, Otley, are disgusted the NHS will not provide any new patients with MS drug beta interferon.

Mrs Naylor, 60, who has had the condition for 35 years, hoped she would get the chance to join thousands of other sufferers in national trials of the drug which can have a beneficial impact on the development of episodic MS.

As a sufferer of 'progressive' MS, in which the patient slowly becomes more disabled, she was not eligible for the initial trials, but hoped they would later be extended to all sufferers.

Mrs Naylor, who has been in a wheelchair for ten years, said: "I would just like the opportunity to try it. The condition grinds you down. We can't lead a normal life."

Mr Naylor wants to make more people aware of the shortcomings of the NHS.

He said there are no medical reasons preventing his wife using the drug and the main issue for the NHS is the cost.

The Naylors cannot raise the money to pay for the treatment privately as Mr Naylor has had to give up his job to become a full-time carer.

Manager of Rawdon-based West Yorkshire MS Therapy Centre, Toni Poole, said: "I haven't had a chance to speak to everyone about it, but it's an awkward situation."

She said a number of patients at the clinic had been on the waiting list and many were already taking it as part of trials in the Leeds area.