CHILDREN suffering from potentially lethal nut allergies have been offered the hope of leading normal lives for the first time, following the success of an experimental treatment.

Doctors at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge have developed a pioneering therapy that effectively "retrains" the immune systems of patients who have food allergies so that they become desensitised to the food.

Trials of the technique have so far helped 20 children with severe peanut allergies overcome their condition.

Before the treatment, many of the patients could not touch even trace amounts of peanuts without suffering a reaction, but the researchers claim that the youngsters can now safely eat up to 12 peanuts a day without them having any effect.

The researchers are planning larger trials of the treatment to test its effectiveness and also hope to develop the therapy to treat other dangerous allergies to foods such as milk, eggs and gluten. They believe the treatment could become a routine way of combating allergies.