A 31-year-old Derry man has extra reason to wrap up warm this winter after he was diagnosed with being allergic to the cold.

Bernard Ward suffers from a rare condition that causes his skin to break out in angry hives if he comes into contact with anything cold.

The reaction can be so bad he can go into anaphylactic shock.

He now has to wrap up warm even indoors and does not go outside in cold weather. Doctors believe he developed the condition after standing at a bus stop in temperatures of -10C in Scotland last year.

'Cold Urticaria' is an allergy where hives or large red welts form on the skin after exposure to a the cold.

The welts can itch and often the hands and feet can become itchy and swollen as well. The disease is classified as chronic when hives appear for longer than 6 weeks.

Bernard says the condition could be fatal.