A 21-year-old woman who collapsed from a stroke in the street was not rushed into hospital immediately because passers-by thought she was drunk or on drugs.

Now Becki Cobb is warning people of all ages to be aware of the signs and symptoms so they can help someone in need.

Ms Cobb, now 23, is working with Fixers, a charity which supports young people across the UK to take action and change things for the better, to get her message across.

She was halfway through her final year at university and planning to go travelling when her life completely changed.

She said: “I decided to walk to work because it was a really sunny day.

“I started to feel a little bit light-headed; I remember trying to find an apple in my bag. Then I fell over and I was trying to crawl to a bin to pick myself up.

“I remember people looking at me and carrying on walking so I thoughtmaybe it wasn’t that serious and maybe I’d fainted. Then eventually two policemen stopped to help me.”

The incident happened in Brighton in February 2011.

PC Stuart Brown said: “She was on her hands and knees and seemed very, very confused.

“Our initial thoughts were that it was probably drink or drugs. I think although the symptoms shouted out stroke, we initially discounted it because of her age.”

The stroke was caused by a small hole in Ms Cobb’s heart, a condition which affects around a third of young adults in the UK.

Ablood clot passed through the hole and caused a blockage.

Ms Cobb was in hospital for six weeks and is still receiving physiotherapy to regain movement.

Despite the stroke, she graduated from university and went travelling to Asia.

She has nowmade a film telling her story with the help of Fixers.

As part of the film she met Jodie Mickleburgh from the charity Different Strokes to talk about how common strokes are in young people.

Mrs Mickleburgh said: “Around 40,000 strokes a year in the UK will happen to people of working age and younger.

“Having someone as young and a vibrant as Becki to prove there is life after stroke is inspirational.”

For more information, visit www.differentstroke.co.uk