THE mother of two children who live with a skin condition says it is "heartbreaking" to see how it affects the youngsters.

And Kelly King says she is frustrated by how little people know about it but is determined to do what she can to raise awareness.

Mrs King's two children, Scarlett, 8, and Fletcher, 4, inherited Epidermolysis Bullosa, from their father, Dan.

At it's worst it can cause death or be extremely life-limiting but thankfully, Scarlett and Fletcher suffer with simplex, a mild form of the disease.

Mrs King, who lives with her family in Bovingdon Road, Bocking, explained: "It's tough because they end up with blisters even after things like falling over and they have to be burst otherwise they spread.

"They're both looked after by Great Ormond Street Hospital and get sent special bandages because normal plasters would just rip their skin away.

"I do worry about them, especially Scarlett because she is getting to the age now where she's quite conscious of it and I think it's tougher for her because she's a girl.

"Last year when we went to the beach she didn't want to wear sandals because she doesn't have a big toe nail.

"Sometimes she'll cry and tell me that she wants skin like mine and that's just heartbreaking but my mother-in-law is great and always says it makes them better people in other ways."

Mrs King, who runs Kings Cake Boutique in Braintree, said she and her husband have found the lack of public knowledge frustrating.

She said: "When we're asked about any existing medical conditions they have by schools or even GPs we often get asked "What's that?"

"It's annoying because people assume it's a type of eczema and don't think it's severe but that's not the case.

"I've tried to post flyers on social media but they are being removed for being too obscene - it's ridiculous because they're just photos of what people look like."

In an effort to raise awareness Mrs King, is gearing up to run the Virgin London marathon next month.

She will be running as part of the DEBRA team - a charity which aims to help people who live with EB - and is hoping to raise £3,000 for the organisation.

She said: "It's one of those things I've always said I will do one day and when I found out DEBRA had a team I applied straight away.

"I'm determined to do it - I'm doing it for my children, my husband and everyone else who has EB."

To visit Mrs King’s JustGiving page go to: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/kelly-king1406