About 1.4 million people in the UK have diagnosed diabetes and at least a million more are thought to have the condition but do not know it.

About 16,000 children are believed to be diabetic and the number is rising every year.

Beth Golding is a happy, lively five-year- old who enjoys school and playing with friends.

But every day she has to have two injections to help keep her alive.

The youngster has diabetes and needs regular insulin to make sure the sugar in her body is properly processed and absorbed.

Diabetes is a condition in which the body does not produce or properly respond to insulin, a hormone needed to convert sugar and other foods into the energy required for daily life.

Beth is among a growing number of children in the UK with the condition, a problem which has led to a national campaign to try to reduce numbers.

Being diabetic does not stop people making a success of their life.

Five-times Olympic rowing champion Sir Steve Redgrave has the condition, as does Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry.

Beth's mother Juliette first noticed problems in the summer of 2002 when the youngster lost weight, developed a raging thirst and craved sweet things.

Her doctor thought she might have a virus but she quickly deteriorated and became listless and difficult to rouse.

Beth was taken to the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Sick Children in Brighton where her sugar levels were found to be sky high and her condition was quickly diagnosed.

Mrs Golding, 39, said: "I am a nurse and suddenly what was wrong with her was staring me in the face. I had guessed but I just did not want to believe it."

There then followed a difficult time for the family as doctors stabilised Beth's condition and the process of regular injections was started.

Mrs Golding said: "That was the hardest part. She hated having the injections and because she was so young she could not understand why we kept doing it.

"We did not want to hurt her but there was no choice.

"She has got used to them now but still does not like it very much.

"She can check her own blood sugar levels but it is a bit early for her to give herself her injections."

Beth also has coeliac disease, which means she has a wheat intolerance.

One in 50 diabetics suffer from the condition.

"It is not easy but we have got used to it. There are gluten-free breads and things like rice cakes which she can have.

"The most difficult thing is when she goes to parties.

"Beth is allowed some sweet things but she is very good and knows she has to be careful. But she is only five and it is not easy when you are in reach of a bowl of Smarties."

Discovering their daughter's condition shocked Mrs Golding and her husband Paul, a computer project manager, as there was no history of diabetes in the family.

Their son, Harry, nine, has no health problems.

Mrs Golding, from Saltdean, said: "We want Beth to have as normal a life as possible and don't want her to feel different from other children.

"She gets cross because if she wants to go to a friend's house I sometimes have to go along as well, "Once she is older and able to manage it all herself it will be fine but at the moment she tells me to go away and leave her with her friends."

Beth suffers from insulin dependent Type 1 diabetes. This was once known as juvenile diabetes but it is now appearing in more adults so the juvenile tag has been dropped.

Type 2 diabetes generally affects older people and can often be treated with tablets but a growing number of children are also developing it.

This has been put down to the rising rate of obesity in youngsters as more and more have a poor diet and sedentary lifestyles.

The family has to watch out in case Beth suffers a hypoglycaemic attack.

This is when too much insulin has driven blood sugar levels to a dangerous low.

A small dose of sugar can rectify the problem but if the onset of an attack goes unnoticed a person is likely to become confused and drowsy.

Some can become aggressive and short-tempered while others are hyper and manic.

If untreated for a long time the patient can go into a diabetic coma.

The Golding family has had a lot support from the diabetic unit at the Royal Alex, which is why Mrs Golding decided to run a 10km race to raise money for it.

A team from the Sussex Police property department, which sells off unclaimed stolen goods and gives the proceeds to charity, agreed to sponsor her for £500 and she now intends to take part in more fund-raising.

She said: "The staff at the unit have been absolutely brilliant and this is a way of saying thank-you."

Mrs Golding is hopeful a cure will be found. "I have been reading about the research and trials for diabetes and maybe one day they will have a break-through.

"Even something like an insulin pump which releases insulin into the body as and when it is needed would make a lot of difference as Beth would no longer have to have injections."