Young dementia patients in Suffolk will for the first time be able to get dedicated support thanks to a mental health charity.

Suffolk Mind is launching a new service for people between the ages of 30 and 60 who have traits or a diagnosis of early onset dementia.

Figures suggest up to 1,152 people in the county are living with the condition.

The charity will be holding support groups with people who have early onset dementia to find out what would help them live well.

This information will then be used to run a trial of different interventions to see the impact on those involved, before the new service is launched.

Project co-ordinator, Sue Gray, said: “Sometimes younger people get dementia – sometimes as young as 30 – they often feel isolated and shocked – and are facing many challenges around work, children and the surprise of having what we usually think of as an ‘old person’s disease’.

“Dementia is a life changing condition at any age but when you are young it is all the more difficult to take in and adjust to”.

The charity says there is currently no other specific service in the area for people who have been diagnosed with dementia at a younger age.

Ms Gray added: “Suffolk Mind’s project will gather information with people affected and together with them provide more of what they need to adjust and cope with their new challenges. We’ll aim to help them get a life that works in the new direction life has now taken.

“Suffolk Mind’s offer will include information and tools about how important it is to meet our emotional and physical needs, which underpin good mental wellbeing and health for us all in any situation.”