A BRADFORD man suffering from motor neuron disease (MND) and his wife were "treated like royalty" after being invited to tea with the Lord Mayor of Bradford.

Martin Moran, who has MND, and his wife Helen, his full-time carer, were invited to tea with the Lord Mayor, Cllr Shabir Hussain, and were given a guided tour of City Hall.

Dr Manoj Joshi, chairman of Lord Mayor Appeal Committee, said: "We wanted to cheer them by giving them a special memory and a surprise treat. They were over the moon.

"The Lord Mayor, Cllr Shabir Hussain, is the first citizen of Bradford and he cares about everyone.

"He reaches out to all people whoever they are. He is raising awareness for Marie Curie which provides fantastic care and support including those with MND."

Martin was diagnosed with MND in September 2017, which changed the couple's life forever.

"There were some tell tale signs that something wasn't quite right," said Helen. "Martin was slurring his speech and he would suddenly cry or burst out laughing for no reason.

"At first we thought it was being caused by stress from work but then he couldn't hold a pen and he's have the odd fall. We started getting worried."

"We saw a specialist who said it was MND. It was proving extremely difficult so I soon packed work in to become a full-time carer. We then had to move from our family home."

The couple moved to a bungalow in Eccleshill and they were very thankful to their friends Graham Swain, Robert Morphet and Craig Magson who helped them at their new home.

After being through so much together, the couple were delighted to be invited to tea with the Lord Mayor.

"It was absolutely amazing," said Helen. "It was such a beautiful afternoon - really, really special."

The couple shared their whole-hearted thanks by sending a letter to the Mayor.

They wrote: "I would just like to say on behalf of us both thank you. Thank you so much for your amazing hospitality and kindness.

"You and your staff treated us like royalty during our visit and we cannot thank you enough.

"We both loved your stories about your family and our guided tour of the inner sanctum of City Hall.

"We were honoured to take afternoon tea in your parlour and overjoyed with your gift of the official tie.

"We were both completely overwhelmed by the whole experience and we can never convey in writing how truly grateful we both are."