Jane Hardy, the former head of banking for Cahoot, is the new chief executive for the Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) Association, which has offices in Watling Street.

PSP is a disease where the nerve endings in the brain die, affecting movement, speech and swallowing, with some patients being confined to a wheelchair or being bed-bound.

The disease claimed the lives of actor Dudley Moore and writer Nigel Dempster.

Mrs Hardy, pictured right, recently lost her mother to the disease, which was followed shortly by the death of her husband George to cancer.

She said: "Mother and George dying so close together made me re-evaluate what was important to me in life.
"I wanted something good to come out of the deeply harrowing years I'd been through.

"What I gained from these dreadful life events is first-hand knowledge, experience and understanding of the pain and suffering and the obstacles and frustrations that beset caring for people with a terminal illness."

Mrs Hardy takes over from Brigadier Michael Koe, who founded the charity with his wife, Sara, shortly before her death from PSP in 1995.
The charity had the official opening of its premises by the Duchess of Gloucester in October.