I was so glad to read Jean Calder's defence of Heather Mills McCartney (The Argus, June 24). I have felt so bad for her I have mentally wrung my hands and wanted to write to her.

As a woman with disabililties of my own, I can relate to her situation.

Looking at recent Sunday tabloid photos of her on the beach, I worried for what is left of her left leg, anxious for its colour and worried about its blood circulation following her recent further surgery. I did not care about the lurid tales being told that day.

In 1996, she was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for her landmines work. She has plates holding her pelvis together and only half a left leg. Nevertheless, she took on pregnancy and brought her child to term successfully.

She is tough and brave and I don't want to see the good work she can do in this world stopped.

It is said we earn the face we have as we age. The photos of 20-year-old Heather compared to recent photos show how much she has moved on, evolved and grown to own a face she can be proud of.

Can her hate-filled detractors say the same?

-Valerie Paynter, Hove