Laura Cowell, 16, looks and sounds like an ordinary teenager, but her life is conditioned by cystic fibrosis, which she contracted when she was just three months old. She was in hospital at the age of 10, kept on intravenous antibiotics to improve her lung function, and had her gall bladder and appendix removed. She was diagnosed as diabetic when she was 12. One day she may need heart and lung transplants.

To combat CF and diabetes she takes between 50 and 70 tablets a day, and also relies on nebulisers, inhalers and insulin injections. All the drugs were tested on animals, a debt she acknowledges.

"All my life I have been aware how important this research is," she said. "Ever since I can remember I have been taking medicine.

"So far I have managed to live a fairly normal life. My mum says I should fit cystic fibrosis around my life rather than the other way round.

"I love animals and I have pets of my own but I owe my life to medical research. Without it I would be dead."

Laura says she has no fears about taking part in the RDS campaign. "I'm proud to have my say. I have a lot of respect for the other people taking part who are putting themselves at risk by taking part.

"The people who use violence are just naive. They should try spending a day in my shoes and see what it feels like."