A WEYMOUTH craft centre was turned into a sea of purple to raise awareness of Fibromyalgia.

The events, including a cake sale and raffle, were part of an international day of awareness of the condition that causes pain in the entire body.

The NHS said that as well as chronic pain, those suffering with the condition also have increased sensitivity to pain, fatigue, muscle stiffness and difficulty sleeping.

The day was held in the craft area of the Palm House in Weymouth. Purple is the colour of the international awareness day.

Lucie Runeckles runs the craft area and was recently diagnosed with fibromyalgia.

She said that she looked for local support groups when she was diagnosed but found they didn’t have a venue for their meetings, so she offered the use of her studio to the group.

She said: “Fibromyalgia is a chronic illness, it obviously develops differently in different people and that’s part of being in a support group – you learn there are people better off and worse off. It causes muscle pain, that’s the biggest symptom.”

She said they wanted to raise awareness of the condition and encourage potential new members to come along and join them.

She added: “In a teeny, tiny way we are putting a purple dot in Weymouth.”