A HYPERACTIVE Worcester teenager who tried to kill herself as she struggled to cope with a rare condition claims she has been abandoned by the system.

Nineteen-year-old Nicola Bushell, who suffers from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), says she is still searching for support since being diagnosed four years ago.

The npower worker claims her cries for help have come to nothing because the condition, which causes inattention, impulsiveness and hyperactivity, is associated with children.

"I've been banging my head against a brick wall," said Nicola, who was on Prozac at the age of 12. "I was referred to Newtown Hospital 18 months ago and have been passed from pillar to post ever since."

Nicola featured in the Evening News in 1997 after reducing medical experts to tears at an international conference by describing her verbal outbursts as a toddler, bullying by classmates, and two overdoses by the age of 15.

She said being diagnosed with ADHD - caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain - was a turning point because it made her feel normal for the first time.

But four years later she feels like "a misfit" because, as a working adult, she has no support.

"I just need someone to talk to who can understand what I'm going through and be sympathetic," the teenager, from Lowesmoor, said. "My emotions are a rollercoaster."

A spokeswoman for the Worcestershire Community and Mental Health NHS Trust said that, although there was a national shortage of child psychiatrists, it had recruited three to the county over the past 12 months.

"We acknowledge ADHD is an important condition affecting children in Worcestershire," she said.

"There are long waiting lists in some parts of the county, which is a situation we recognise and are trying hard to recruit appropriate staff."

But Nicola believes there is little prospect of finding professional support and has appealed for help to Sir Michael Spicer, MP for West Worcestershire.

"Although I'm not suicidal any more, I know it's only because I've learnt to control the condition without professional help," she said.