Tommy Mundon in Parkinson's battle

Black Country comedian Tommy Mundon has been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease - but is facing up to it with his usual sense of humour.

Tommy, whose 77th birthday is today, has spoken about how he is coping with the progressive neurological illness to give hope to others.

"I'm in the early stages and they've got good medication these days," said Tommy, who lives with his wife 59-year-old wife Val, in Alexandra Road, Halesowen.

"I've got patches that slowly release the medication to control the pain and I have physiotherapy at Corbett Hospital in Stourbridge.

"What I need to do now is to master the slight stammering and stuttering I've got — but I've been doing some shows and have more planned this year.

"I used to write roughly what I was going to say in a performance. Now I'm getting it down in full for a set of about 20 minutes. I will still ad lib when I can."

It was a fall 18 months ago, in which he hurt his shoulder, that led Tommy to find out he had Parkinson's.

He said: "During the course of treatment for the shoulder, my doctor told me he had a feeling I'd got Parkinson's coming on — and Val noticed that I sometimes stared into space.

"I went to see a consultant at Dudley Guest Hospital and eventually got the diagnosis."

Tommy, who has a daughter and two grandchildren, has just started performing after a gap of a few months, appearing at the Goodyear Pavilion in Wolverhampton on Friday to raise money for the Beacon Centre for the Blind.

He has several other bookings lined up and will be in a Black Country comedy tour of theatres, from October.

"I'm optimistic about the future and am getting there thanks to the medication and advice," he said.

Val, who will in September celebrate 40 years of marriage to Tommy, said: "The local Parkinson's nurses have been excellent.

"Tommy's attitude to it is great. A lot of people would thrown in the towel — but he's quite determined."