A VILLAGE was bathed in a sea of purple last week as businesses on the High Street decorated their shops to mark the international day of epilepsy.

Purple Day was celebrated by villagers in Chalfont St Peter to support the Epilepsy Society, which has its headquarters in the village.

Shops were strewn with balloons, banners and ribbons, while many of the staff had dyed their hair purple for the occasion.

Even local taxi firms joined in as Ivy Cabs handed out Purple Day stickers and seizure first aid cards and chatted to customers about epilepsy.

The theme of this year’s Purple Day was ‘be the conversation starter’, with the aim of encouraging people to share their experiences and knowledge of epilepsy, and find out more about the impact of the condition.

An Epilepsy Society trustee, Chris Blue, changed his name to Chris Purple for the day to help get the conversation started. Dressed in a purple suit, he spent two days chatting to staff on the high street to find out what their experience of epilepsy was.

Marie Cavanagh, of Fired Works and president of Chalfont St Peter Chamber of Commerce,, said: “It was a fantastic day with lots of fun, and so much purple. It really brought a sense of community to our village, but with an important underlying message.

“Just by starting the conversation about Purple Day we shared many stories with people affected one way or another by epilepsy.

“I am sure many of us have a much better understanding of the illness now and I really hope we can make this an annual event in the village making it bigger and better each year.”

Staff at the charity took part in fun activities such as having a purple makeover, a doughnut sale and entering a raffle to win an extra day’s holiday. They raised £625 from the fundraising events.

Epilepsy Society chief executive Clare Pelham said: “The support we received from local businesses was incredible. There was such a feeling of good will and camaraderie in the high street and we heard so many stories about epilepsy.

“It was also good to be able to share with people our groundbreaking research at Epilepsy Society. Most people know that we provide residential care for those with the most severe forms of epilepsy and other disabilities. And the high street is always very welcoming to our residents when they make regular trips into the village.

“From the bottom of my heart, a huge thank you to everyone who supported us on Purple Day.”

Visit epilepsysociety.org.uk/purpleday.