A mother has a rare brain disorder which she claims causes her to take off her clothes in public – and says the condition is 'ruining her life'.

Leanne Lyon, 41, has a small non-cancerous tumour lodged in her brain which triggers up to five seizures a day, each lasting up to half an hour.

She blacks out during the fits - which have a strange and embarrassing side-effect - they often cause her to strip down to her underwear. Mrs Lyon, of Northampton, said she doesn't strip every time she has a seizure, but it does happen around twice a month.

Mrs Lyon says while the condition may seem amusing to onlookers, it is highly debilitating as she cannot hold down a job and struggles to raise her two young children. She relies on a carer to take her two children Kieran, nine, and Megan, six, to school and is heavily dependent on her husband David, 43, a shoe salesman.

She said: 'I have no idea what I'm doing during the fits - it's almost like I'm sleep-walking and it's led to some really embarrassing episodes. Once, I was shopping in Wilkinsons when I suffered a seizure and I began stripping in the aisles. When I came round, I was in nothing but my underwear.' 

She added: 'Because I black out during the seizures I can never remember what happened - I simply come round with no clothes on. I'm sure it might look funny to some strangers but the condition is ruining my life.'

Medics were baffled by her condition until she was diagnosed with hypothalamic hamartoma at the age of 29. The condition is a small, non-cancerous brain tumour which causes seizures, blackouts and memory loss. It is thought to affect only one individual in every one million people.

At 17, she had surgery to remove part of her brain and rid her of the tumour. But the procedure, a left temporal lobectomy, only made the condition worse. Now Mrs Lyon has five or more episodes a day. While some last for a few seconds, others can go on for half an hour. 

Mrs Lyon's rare condition can be treated using keyhole surgery to destroy the tumor. But the procedure is currently only available in the United States and costs £95,000.

Mrs Lyon said: 'I'm desperate to find a way to beat this tumour. It would mean the world to me if I could just take my kids to the park without needing constant supervision. I'm trying to raise money for the expensive procedure in America – one day, I'll beat this and be seizure free.'