HEARTFELT support has been offered to Lions and Scotland rugby legend George “Doddie” Weir who has spoken of his battle with the incurable muscle-wasting illness motor neurone disease (MND).

The 46-year-old former British and Irish Lion– winner of 61 caps for Scotland - announced his diagnosis while throwing his fund-raising weight behind Global MND Awareness Day.

And he has been overwhelmed with messages of best wishes, including former Scotland team-mate Scott Hastings, whose mother-in-law died from the illness in recent years. He said he was "in absolute tears" when Weir phoned to tell him about his condition a few weeks ago.

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"It is an awful, cruel disease," Hastings said. "But Doddie, like the rest of his life, has approached everything with a real relish to challenge the disease.

"He's one of the great characters of Scottish rugby."

Former Scotland team-mate Gregor Townsend, now Scotland head coach. added his backing, saying: "We are all with you Doddie. You will see some incredible support and love from tthe world of rugby."

Scottish Rugby said in a statement: "Doddie gave distinguished service to the national team for 10 years and has been a terrific ambassador for the sport.

"He is a larger-than-life character and Scottish Rugby will look to support him and the charity initiative he has described."

Weir, also an award-winning after-dinner speaker and MC - said he would also devote his time to fund-raising for the Euan MacDonald Centre, a Scotland-wide research initiative based at the University of Edinburgh.

Mr Weir said: ''Over the past few months a number of friends and family have raised concerns surrounding my health.

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"I think then, that on this day set to help raise awareness of the condition, I should confirm that I too have Motor Neurone Disease. I should like to take this opportunity to thank the National Health Service in recognising then diagnosing this, as yet, incurable disease.

“I am currently on holiday in New Zealand with Kathy and the boys and when we return, I will devote my time towards assisting research and raising awareness and funds to help support fellow sufferers. There are plans in place to create a charitable foundation to help in any way we can and we will share these details with you after our family trip.”

MND, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, is a progressive and incurable disease which affects around two in every 100,000 people in the UK.

It occurs when cells which usually transmit messages from the brain and spinal cord to telling muscles in the body what to do break down. Messages from the nerves gradually stop reaching the muscles, which causes them to weaken and waste away.

Doddie is supporting researchers in their quest to better understand the disease, in the hope that it will eventually lead to new therapies.

Dutch football supporters have raised over 7,000 in two weeks to raise money for a statue of former Rangers star Fernando Ricksen, who has been battling motor neurone disease for the past four years.

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Fortuna Sittard supporters set up the tribute to the player, who has raised thousands of pounds for charity, after the debilitating disease ended his dream to become head coach of the club.

It is the same muscle-wasting disease that killed Celtic legend Jimmy Johnstone in 2006, aged 61. Gordon Aikman, who was working as director of research for the Better Together side during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum campaign when he was diagnosed with MND, died at the age of 31 earlier this year.

Meanwhile, a new report from cross-party think tank Demos today urged action to ease the financial impact of motor neurone disease (MND), following a major research project studying the impacts on hundreds of people living with the disease and their families, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

It found on average, people with MND and their families spend the equivalent of £9,645 every year in regular and enhanced costs, as a direct result of the disease, plus a further £2,175 in one-off costs.

It also discovered that over two-thirds of families use their savings to cope with the extra costs of MND during the illness, and sometimes little is left after bereavement.

And 82 per cent of people living with MND have experienced a negative financial impact following diagnosis, and only one in five consider the financial support they receive to be adequate.