MOST youngsters eat a lot of chips but very few can today lay claim to eating as many as one Suffolk teenager who has eaten barely anything else her entire life.

MOST youngsters eat a lot of chips but very few can today lay claim to eating as many as one Suffolk teenager who has eaten barely anything else her entire life.

Faye Campbell, 15, of Lavenham Way, Stowmarket, has eaten the potato-based food as the only staple of her diet for the past decade.

The Stowmarket High pupil has an unusual physical condition which makes her feel so ill every time she ate anything other than chips that she learned not to take the risk.

Her parents, Carolyn, 37, and Mark, 39, have endured a torrid time over the years due to their daughter's peculiar diet.

Mrs Campbell said: “She just drank milk until she was four or five.

“We tried giving her everything but she rejected it.

“For some reason at that age she tried a chip and didn't eat anything else.”

Mrs Campbell said she tried numerous methods to get Faye to eat different foods but each to no avail and constant trips to the doctors yielded limited results.

However since she was diagnosed with the condition of gastrooesophageal reflux two years ago there is now light at the end of the tunnel.

The breakthrough came when she was referred to Dr Nigel Meadows, who runs the Feeding Team at St Bart's and The London NHS Trust.

Following two years of treatment, including work with a child psychologist and specialist medicine, Faye will eat plain burgers, some plain noodles from one specific Chinese takeaway and potato waffles.

Her usual food remains chips from a local chippie.

Mr Campbell said: “It must seem extremely strange to other parents but now that it has been explained to us why this is happening we have a better understanding of it and it gives us a chance to manage the situation a bit better.”

Mrs Campbell said: “If it wasn't for Dr Meadows we'd still be banging our heads together looking for a solution. Now my hope is that by the age of 20, Faye will be able to go to a restaurant and order anything off the menu."

N do you have a diet as unusual as Faye's? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk

Gastrooesophageal reflux is one of the main causes of indigestion and heartburn, and affects around 30per cent of the UK population each month.

It is usually treated by antacids, which neutralise the acid in the stomach, or Proton Pump Inhibitors, drugs that reduce the amount of acid the stomach produces.

If medicines don't work, surgery may be considered which aims to make it harder for stomach contents to re-enter the oesophagus, so there is less reflux.

For sufferers such as Faye the condition is more distressing - the stomach sends strong acids back up the gullet and into the mouth.