Gravesend Epilepsy Network has received £200,000 from an unlikely benefactor.

More than 500,000 people in the UK have epilepsy which equates to around one in 100 people.

The Gravesend group was co-founded 35 years ago by Lynn Savill and is chaired by her husband Fred Savill. The group has around 300 members. The money was left to the group by a man called Frank Coleman, in the form of a property.

Although he had no local links to the town – he lived in Doncaster – he had a seizure when he was young and was on epilepsy medication for the rest of his life.

He wanted to leave his estate to an epilepsy charity and it is believed he, or his solicitors, saw Gravesend Epilepsy Network advertised in a solicitor’s publication about legacy giving and bequeathed his money to them. The network has been very supportive of research by the Epilepsy Society and its nationwide support of people with the condition, and decided to pass on the donation, specifically for research.

Mr Savill said: “Mr Coleman was frightened to stop taking the drugs in case the seizures returned. He wanted to leave his estate to an epilepsy charity.”

He said he and his wife hoped that the money would help the charity understand how a person’s DNA contributes to their epilepsy. “Our dream would be individualised treatment for everyone with epilepsy,” said Mr Savill.Gravesend Epilepsy Network meets regularly to provide social support.

“It was the charity that brought us together,” said Mr Savill.

“We both have children with epilepsy from previous marriages. Lynn has a daughter, Susan who is now 45 and I have a son, Paul who is 43.

“It is important for people to know they are not alone and are not the only ones with epilepsy. The network provides them with a social life and shows them that there is life beyond epilepsy.”

Chief executive at Epilepsy Society, Rosemarie Finley said: ‘Over the years Gravesend Epilepsy Network has donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to help us support people with epilepsy. Although epilepsy is one of the most common neurological conditions, in many cases the cause is unknown.

“This very generous donation will help us to carry out vital research looking at people’s genetic makeup to try and understand what causes epilepsy and how best to treat it.”