A woman was told she was lucky to be alive after she was rushed to hospital with chest pains and shortness of breath.

Lesley Cherry, from Watford, was diganosed with pulmonary embolism, thrombosis in the lungs, and now has to take vital blood thinning medication daily.

Doctors discovered multiple blood clots in both of her lungs, which came as a shock to Ms Cherry as she did not have the common risk factors for such as a long flight or operation.

Ms Cherry said: “I started to feel breathless and had chest pains so I went to A and E. They told me I was lucky to be alive.

"I had no idea I was at risk or how thrombosis could affect you. I thought only the very ill or travellers were at risk, but this was wrong and almost cost me my life.”

It took two weeks for the clots to be diagnosed, which left Ms Cherry thinking about the little things taken for granted, like walking up the stairs or putting on socks.

To make others more aware of her condition and how it can affect anyone, she has teamed up with friends she met on a Facebook support group, Christina Perkins and Adrian Dewey, to raise awareness.

Their photographic campaign called ‘Through the Lens’ will be displayed in hospitals and surgeries across the country.

Ms Perkins and Mr Dewey work with Thrombosis survivors from across the UK to capture the human faces of Thrombosis and share insight into the impact that blood clots leave, even when the person may look well.

Ms Perkins, said: “Blood clots can happen to anyone of any age or gender, even people like myself who are considered fit and healthy.

I have too many friends whose lives have been changed forever because of a blood clot, but this needn’t be the case.”