TWO out of three North-East children receiving long-term home tuition because they are too ill to go to school are victims of the mystery illness ME, it was revealed last night.

Latest figures suggest that 67 per cent of chronically-ill children in County Durham having home tuition are suffering from the debilitating illness, which is characterised by profound tiredness.

Reacting to the new figures, Durham's Dryburn Hospital paediatrician Dr Nigel Speight said the number of children with ME, or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, appears to be steadily increasing in the region.

"It has been going up from one or two cases a year to ten or 12 cases a year over the past ten years," said Dr Speight, who advises three ME charities.

Patient groups say more research needs to be carried out into the causes of ME, which affects more than 150,000 people, including 25,000 children

Emily Collingridge, spokeswoman for the Association for Young People With ME, said: "There is a desperate need for more research about ME.

"We don't even know how many people are now affected.

"The figure of 150,000 sufferers is an old total. There may be many more," she said.

Kath Tansey, coordinator of the Home and Hospital support service provided by Durham Education Authority, estimates that there are about 39 youngsters receiving home tuition in the county who have ME.

"That figure represents about two-thirds of our chronically ill medical cases," she said.

Dr Speight, who sits on a national committee on ME, said it was important for parents with children who were chronically tired to consider ME as a diagnosis.

Helen Cardy from Rowland's Gill, County Durham, whose daughter Ileana, 11, has ME, said: "It took two years of worry and a lot of missed school before we got a positive diagnosis.

"GPs must be more aware of the possibility of ME."