The deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats has spoken out about how Crohn's disease almost killed her.

Daisy Cooper's weight plummeted to just seven stone and she was given just four days to live unless she had major surgery.

She said she had to be raced to hospital 12 years ago because her condition was so aggressive.

"My weight had dropped to around seven stone," Ms Cooper told the party conference in Brighton on Monday.

"My eyesight was failing. My heart rate had plummeted. My arms were black and blue. I was fed only through a feeding tube."

She added: "But it wasn't the prospect of major surgery that upset me. It was what they said next.

"'Even if you survive Daisy, even if you recover, you will probably never be able to work again.

"Your Crohn's disease is so aggressive, at most you'll be able to maybe do one day a week.

"'You'll likely need surgery every five years or so. Here's an information pack about the benefits you might be entitled to.'"

Crohn's disease is a form of inflammatory bowel disease, which causes the immune system to attack healthy tissue in the gut.

Symptoms can include diarrhea, stomach aches of varying severity and blood in the stool.

About half a million people in the UK are believed to have the condition and there is no known cure.

Ms Cooper said the NHS not only saved her life but "gave me my life back".

She added that she feared for any patient who may be going through the same thing now under a health service in crisis.

She said: "Can they even get an appointment with their GP? How long have they been waiting for a scan?

"Are they stuck in a hospital corridor rather than a ward as they scream with pain?"

She added: "We Lib Dems must continue to campaign to save our NHS and care like our lives depend on it.

"Because I know, and we know, that so many people's lives really do."