A FAMOUS vocal coach proved to be the perfect guest speaker at a St Albans-based charity s anniversary breakfast last week. Carrie Grant, best known for her involvement in Fame Academy and Pop Idol, took centre stage at The National Association for Coliti

A FAMOUS vocal coach proved to be the perfect guest speaker at a St Albans-based charity's anniversary breakfast last week.

Carrie Grant, best known for her involvement in Fame Academy and Pop Idol, took centre stage at The National Association for Colitis & Crohn's (NACC) breakfast on Friday morning at Sopwell House Hotel in St Albans.

Carrie, who was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease in 1986, and her fellow NACC members were joined by guests such as MP for St Albans Anne Main and Mayor of St Albans, Cllr Chris Oxley, to celebrate the charity's 30th anniversary over a breakfast buffet.

Established in 1979 as a partnership between patients, their families and friends and health care professionals, the NACC, which is based in Sutton Road, is dedicated to improving life for UK Colitis and Crohn's sufferers, including over 500 who live in St Albans.

Carrie said at the ceremony: "When I was first diagnosed with Crohn's, it was the NACC who I turned to for help. They helped me adopt a positive attitude towards my disease and without them I would've been lost. It's a privilege to be part of such a fantastic charity and I hope to continue my work with them for many years to come."

Bradley Brown, vice president of NACC, said that he was overjoyed at how far the charity has come: "When I first joined 20 years ago, we held meetings in a cramped room over a fish'n'chip shop in St Albans and now we're having celebratory breakfasts at Sopwell House! I'm so pleased with the generosity of our supporters such as Carrie."

He added: "Colitis and Crohn's are the most embarrassing illnesses you can have and so talking about it can be very difficult. We want to raise people's awareness about these disabling diseases in the hopes that sufferers won't have to feel ashamed any longer."

To find out more about Colitis and Crohn's disease, visit the NACC website at www.nacc.org.uk